471' 



VEKTKIJUATA. 



mills, "that a pMit Ionian in.w n-si.lin-r in Wcyln-id^'C, in Siirnv, walkini; one day by the side of 

 til.' ri\tT \V<\, ni'ar tliat t..\vn, saw a lari;c pike in a sliallow creek, lie immediately pulled off 

 his coat, tu<-kfd up his shirt-slcevcs, and went into the water to intercept the return of the fish 

 to the river, and to (Mnh-avor to throw it out upon the bank ])y getting his hands under it. 

 hurinir tliis attempt, tlie pikr. linding he couhl not make liis escape, seized one of the arms of 

 the gentleman, an<l lacerate<l it so nni.li tli.it the marks of the wound are still visible." 



riinv considcrc"! the pike as the longest-lived, and likely to attain tlie largest size of any fresh- 

 wafer lish. Pennant refers to one that was ninety years old; but Gesner relates that in the 

 year I4'J7 a pike was taken at liaill>rnn, in Suabia, with a brazen ring attached to it on which 

 were these words, in Greek characters: " 1 am the tisli which was first of all put into this lake 

 liv the hamis of the Governor of the Universe, Frederick the Second, the 5th October, 1230." 

 This tish was therefore two hundred and sixty-seven years old, and was said to have weighed 

 three hundred and fiftv pounds. The skeleton, nineteen feet in length, was long preserved at 

 Maidieim as a jireat curiosity in luitural history. The lakes of Scotland have produced pike of 

 fiftv-tive ])ounds' weight; and some of the Irish lakes are said to have afforded pike of seventy 

 pounds; "but it is observed," says honest Izaak Walton, " that such old or very great pikes 

 iiave in them more of state tlian goodness; the smaller or middle-sized pikes being by the most 

 and choicest palates, observed to be the best meat." 



The flesh of the pike is of good quality, and those of the Medway, in England, when feeding on 

 tlic smelt, acquire excellent condition, with peculiarly fine flavor. In Lapland, and some other 

 northern countries of Europe, large quantities of pike are caught during the spawning season, 

 being then most easily taken, and are dried for future use. 



In North America there are several species of this genus, some of them very remarkable. The 

 Common American Pike or Pickerel, E. reficulatus, is from one to three feet long, and is 

 found in most of the lakes, ponds, and rivers of the Middle and Eastern States. It is especially 

 abundant in the numerous bright, limpid lakes of New England, and is there taken in large 



numbers. In habits it agrees with 

 the European species ; it not only 

 feeds on fish, but on frogs, water-rats, 

 and even young water-fowl. AYhen 

 introduced into a piece of water it 

 soon makes almost every other spe- 

 cies scarce, except the perch, whose 

 bony spines protect it even from this 

 wolf of the waters. It is taken in 

 various ways, though perhaps most commonly with hook and line, having a small floating buoy 

 and living bait. Frank Forester says : " I infinitely prefer trolling with the gorge-hook to fishing 

 either with the common snap or what is here called the sockdollager hook, which last I regard 

 as a great and dangerous humbug!" This fish is taken in considerable numbers in winter, by 

 cutting through the ice. Its weight is two to five pounds; sometimes even, though rarely, 

 twelve pounds. 



The Long Island or Varied Pickerel, U.fasciatus, is common in the trout-ponds and clear 

 running brooks of Long Island ; it resembles the common pike, but is not more than half its size, 

 rarely exceeding a pound in weight. It is remarkable fjr its very large scales. This fish is 

 found in New Jersey, and generally in the State of New York. 



The Great Northern Pickerel, U. luciotdcs, is an exceedingly fine species, weighing from 

 four to ten, and even up to seventeen pounds. The back is of a rich blackish-green. It is bold and 

 voracious, and takes any sort of bait in spinning or trolling ; it is captured in winter by baits set 

 through the ice, and is an essential resource to the Indian hunter when the chase fails him. It 

 devours fishes of every variety, even its own species and the thorny perch, rats, reptiles, water- 

 fowl, indeed any living thing that comes within its reach. It is found in the great lakes and 

 rivers, from Lake Superior to the St. Lawrence. 



The Mascalonge, a term said to be derived from the Canadian French, Masque allonge, and 



THE PICKEREL. 



