176 American Fisheries Society. 



Chambers has gi'-'en us, though not quite, because Mr. Chambers has gone 

 into the matter very much more thoroughly — he agreed that maskinonge 

 was the correct name; and on behalf of the United States Dr. David Starr 

 Jordan adopted that name in the international regulations. 



The term "tnuskellunge," so far as I can see, originated through a mis- 

 take. Anglers who came into Canada from the United States found a fish 

 called the "longe" or "lunge" — that is the big lake trout; and when the Ind- 

 ians and French-Canadians spoke of "maskinonge," by some means the visit- 

 ing anglers confused "lunge" with "maskinonge" ; and so we got this word 

 "lunge" imported into the name of a fish that never in all its history 

 was called "lunge." "Maskinonge" has a meaning ; it describes the fish 

 accurately; "muskellunge" means nothing and describes nothing. As Mr. 

 Chambers has pointed out, it is a comparatively new name ; it does not date 

 back very far. The name "masquinongy" occurred in the Canadian Fisheries 

 Act and has been there for at least fifty years. I would strongly urge the 

 adoption of names which have an historical as well as a descriptive basis. 



Mr. C. F. Culler, Winona, Minn. : I would like to know the difference 

 between the northern pike and the maskinonge. 



Dr. Prince: There are several differences. The northern pike has little 

 spots of white spread out on a darker ground, whereas with the maskinonge 

 there are darker marks on a pale greenish or brownish ground. 



Mr. Chambers : As a rule the markings on the great northern pike, 

 Esox lucius, are oblong in shape, a pale oblong spot; whereas the darker 

 spots on the lighter ground in the maskinonge are very much smaller, 

 rounder and darker. These, of course, are the body markings. 



Mr. Leach : The markings are very apt to change according to the 

 water in which they are found. In the St. Lawrence, where water is per- 

 haps swifter and somewhat different in color from the water in some of the 

 inland lakes of Wisconsin and Minnesota, the markings are apt to be differ- 

 ent. That is true of almost any fish; the character of its food and en- 

 vironment also has an effect upon the markings. The State of New York 

 a few years ago issued a little placard illustrating the different species of 

 pike and gave a brief description of each, so that there would be no con- 

 fusion between pike, pickerel, and pike perch. 



Dr. Prince." Of course the scales on the cheek and operculum are 

 quite different. On the cheek in the northern pike they pass all the way 

 down ; but half-way down on the gill cover ; whereas in the great maskinonge 

 they are cut off half-way down on both cheek and gill cover. The small 

 chain or grass pike has scales all the way down on cheek and gill cover. 



Mr. E. W. Cobb, St. Paul, Minn.: Do I understand. Dr. Prince, that 

 you consider the great northern pike to be the same fish that we call the 

 pickerel — Esox luciusf 



Dr. Prince: Yes; that is what is called pickerel in most of the states. 

 Mr. E. W. Cobb: And that the "muskellunge" is distinguished by the 

 scales being on the upper part of the cheek and gill covers only; that is 

 correct, is it? 



