and the Maritime Provinces. 185 



" The mascalonge grows much larger," said the Doctor. 



" Yes," I replied, " it is often called a big pickerel or pike, but it is 

 quite another fish. Although it has the same number of fins, and they 

 are placed in the same positions as those on the pike, it may readily be 

 identified by the scales on the upper part of the cheeks and on the gill- 

 covers." 



"The old Indian name of the fish, mas kanonj a, vth\ch means 'long 

 snout ' " said the Judge, " is very similar to that given it by the Canadians, 

 the masque-tongue, or ' long visage.' It has almost the same habits as those 

 of the common pickerel, but the coloration differs very much." 



"Yes," I replied, "but the coloration of pickerel varies with the waters 

 in which the fish live; in fact, coloration is generally a poor guide for 

 identification of any of the fishes; we have all seen how trout vary in 

 color in different localities." 



The mascalonge has many of the habits of the pickerel, but is a some- 

 what more symmetrical fish : it is also much better in an epicurean point 

 of view, its meat being white and compact, and free from all taints of mud 

 and decaying vegetation, which the pickerel sometimes has. It is one of 

 the most voracious of fish, and the destruction it wages among smaller 

 species is terrible. It attains a very great size, specimens having been 

 taken of nearly six feet in length, and weighing from sixty to seventy 

 pounds. 



Like the pike and pickerel, the mascalonge is taken with a trolling 

 spoon, or other moving bait. It is a strong, fierce fighter, differing in this 

 respect from the pickerel, which usually fights hardest after it is safely 

 landed. 



The pickerel, and by this I mean the pike also, is one of the most 

 destructive of fishes : in fact, by many anglers it is termed " the fresh-water 

 shark." It is of rapid growth if it has an abundance of food, but it is 

 believed by many to be an unprofitable species to raise, because of the fact 

 that it destroys more other food-fishes than it is worth.* 



* M. Carbonnier, in a communication to the Imperial Society of Accli- 

 matization in France, in commenting on this says: 



" In the course of a year the growth of the pike is very rapid, especially 

 if living in a large extent of water ; the female attains the length of from 

 eleven to sixteen inches, and several of them are fit for reproduction, 

 whereas the males are not adult and in milt till the second year. 



" About its fourth or fifth year the pike sometimes attains the length 

 of nearly four feet, very rarely more, and at this age, when confined in 

 ponds without communication with large water-courses, it is in the perfec- 

 tion of its existence. In proportion to its rapid growth is its premature 

 old age ; it then becomes mouldy, often blind, and dies very young. 



" It is known that ponds, intelligently cultivated, are regularly fished 

 every four or five years. It is then not rare to find choice specimens, 

 remarkable either for size or shape, which are reserved for a subsequent 



