33 The Naturalist of Cumbrae. 



would not occur to many persons that a character so 

 well established could reasonably be called in question. 

 But Mr. Robertson, while on a short sojourn at Loch 

 Lomond, in June, 1887, having an opportunity of 

 examining some of these fish, thought that he would 

 like to satisfy his mind on the subject by direct 

 inspection. In one pike, measuring twenty-one inches, 

 he found indeed that the length of the narrow 

 stomach and intestines together about equalled that 

 of the whole fish, but on the other hand they were 

 practically empty. "Another pike (length twenty- 

 nine inches, weight over five pounds) was found," he 

 says, "to contain in its stomach a powan, Coregonus 

 clupeoides, Lacep. The head was at the bottom of 

 the stomach, and the tail, or caudal fins, were seen in 

 the throat of the pike. I was informed by the fisher- 

 men that this was not an unusual occurrence. The 

 powan seemed just to fill the stomach. When taken 

 out, the head was found to be almost completely 

 dissolved ; the body was less and less affected as it 

 neared the mouth of the pike ; and for fully two 

 inches the tail (exclusive of the caudal fin) was free 

 from the slightest marks of digestion. 



" It therefore appears that the active digestive 

 power resides at the bottom of the stomach, which we 

 may assume is equivalent to a small digestive organ ; 

 and it seems very doubtful that the pike can be such 

 an insatiable glutton as he has been represented. He 

 may like a good meal when he can get it, but he 

 must have time to dispose of it before he can be 

 ready for another, and judging from the compara- 

 tively small means at his disposal, he may require 



