AMERICAN SPECIES. 5 



banded pickerel are absent ; but, as the two last named 

 have the same scales as the Reticulatus, other means of 

 identification must be employed ; but they are of such small 

 size that they are not much regarded by anglers. The 

 colouring of the pike is very constant ; but the mascalonge 

 is variable, being spotted dark spots on light ground in 

 the St. Lawrence River basin, and unspotted in other 

 waters." 



The marking and colouring of British pike differ 

 somewhat according to season and the water they 

 were captured in. The dorsal, caudal, and ventral 

 fins vary, some being uniform in colour, while those 



HEAD OF THIRTY-SIX POUND PIKE. 



fins in other pike are marked with blotches of dark 

 and light browns like tortoiseshell, the fin-rays 

 being streaked with a dark shade of crimson. Mr. 

 Cheney mentions the interesting fact that he hatches 

 upwards of three million mascalonge annually. 

 They are " hatched in boxes sunk in a lake, and 

 provided with double bottoms and tops, so that the 

 eggs are not eaten by other fish through the wire 

 meshes. About 97 per cent, of impregnated eggs 

 are hatched, and with the water at 55 Fahr., they 

 hatch in about fifteen days, and it requires about 



