130 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. PART I. 



The Pike is also observed to be a solitary, melancholy, 

 and a bold fish : melancholy, because he always swims or 

 rests himself alone, and never swims in shoals or with 

 company, as Roach and Dace, and most other fish do : 

 and bold, because he fears not a shadow, or to see or be 

 seen of any body, as the Trout and Chub, and all other 

 fish do. 



And it is observed by Gesner, that the jaw-bones, and 

 hearts, and galls of Pikes are very medicinable for several 

 diseases, or to stop blood, to abate fevers, to cure agues, 

 to oppose or expel the infection of the plague, and to be 

 many ways medicinable and useful for the good of man- 

 kind : but he observes, that the biting of a Pike is veno- 

 mous, and hard to be cured. 



And it is observed, that the Pike is a fish that breeds 

 but once a year ; and that other fish, as namely Loaches, 

 do breed oftener: as we are certain tame Pigeons do 

 almost every month ; and yet the Hawk, a bird of prey, 

 ns the Pike is a fish, breeds but once in twelve months. 

 Vnd you are to note, that his time of breeding, or spawn- 

 ing, is usually about the end of February, or somewhat 

 later, in March, as the weather proves colder or warmer : 

 and to note, that his manner of breeding is thus : a he and 

 a she-Pike will usually go together out of a river into 

 some ditch or creek ; and that there the spawner casts her 

 eggs, and the melter hovers over her all that time that she 

 is casting her spawn, but touches her not. 1 



I'might say more of this, but it might be thought cu- 

 riosity or worse, and shall therefore forbear it; and take 

 up so much of your attention as to tell you, that the 

 best of Pikes are noted to be in rivers ; next, those in great 

 ponds or meres ; and the worst, in small ponds. 



(1) Very lale discoveries of naturalists contradict this hypothesis concerning 

 the generation of fishes, and prove that they are produced by the conjunction 

 of the male and female, as other animals are. See the Philosophical Transac- 

 tions, Vol. XLVIII. Part IT. for the year 175*. page 8?0. 



