PIKE. 35 



was bitten in several places. The Pike was then 

 put into the canal again, together with abun- 

 dance of fish for him to feed upon, all which 

 he devoured in less than a year's time ; and was 

 observed by the gardener and workmen there, 

 to take the ducks, and other water fowl, under 

 water. Whereupon they shot magpies and 

 crows, and threw them into the canal, which 

 the Pike took before their eyes : of this they ac- 

 quainted their Lord ; who, thereupon, ordered 

 the slaughterman to fling in calves bellies, chick- 

 ens guts, and such like garbage to him, to prey 

 upon : but being soon after neglected, he died, 

 as supposed, for want of food." 



The smaller kind of fish are said to show the 

 same uneasiness and detestation at the presence 

 of a Pike, as the smaller birds do at the sight 

 of a hawk ; and when the Pike, as is often the 

 case, lies dormant at the surface of the water, 

 they are observed to swim around in vast num- 

 bers, and in the greatest anxiety. 



The Pike spawns in March and April, accor- 

 ding to the warmth or coldness of the season, 

 depositing it among weeds near the water's 

 edge ; the young are supposed to be of very 

 quick growth ; the first year it arrives at the 

 length of from six to ten inches ; the second, to 

 twelve or fifteen ; and the third, to eighteen or 

 twenty. An overgrown Pike is called a Luce, 

 D 



