THE COMMON FIKE. 1 73 



rapacious birds, sometimes swimming round him, 

 while lying dormant near the surface, in vast num- 

 bers, and with great anxiety *. 



The largest Pike that is supposed to have been 

 ever seen in this country, was one caught on the 

 draining of a pool at Lillishall lime-works, near 

 Newport, that had not been fished in the memory 

 of man: it weighed above 170 poundsf. 



If the accounts of different writers on the subject 

 are to be credited, the longevity of the Pike is very 

 remarkable. Gesner goes so far as to mention a 

 Pike whose age was ascertained to be 267 years. 



Pikes spawn in March or April. When they are 

 in high season, their colours are very fine, being 

 green, spotted with bright yellow, and having the 

 gills of a most vivid red. When out of season, the 

 green changes to grey, and the yellow spots become 

 pale. The teeth are very sharp, and are disposed 

 in the upper jaw, on both sides of the lower, on the 

 roof of the mouth, and often on the tongue. They 

 are altogether solitary fish, never con^rejjatinor like 

 some of the other tribes. 



Though somewhat bony fish, they are in general 

 esteem as food ; and on the Continent, where they 

 are caught in great abundance, they are dried, and 

 exported to other countries for sale. 



They are often taken while lying asleep near the, 

 surface of the water, by means of a snare, at the 



* Perm. Brit. Zool. vol. iii. 3-22. 

 + Walton, note, p. 136, from a London paper of the 25th of Ja- 

 nuary, 1765, 



