116 THE PIKE— THE SALMON. 



tiful in the Mediterranean and, when pickled, so highly esteem- 

 ed in sauces. 



THE PIKE, 



One of the most active and voracious of all the finny race, is 

 comprehended in this order. To describe a fish so universally 

 known as the pike, is unnecessary ; but we cannot omit a few 

 traits of its history : it is said to have been first introduced into 

 England about A. D. 1537, and it was then so scarce, that one 

 of them sold for double the price of a lamb fit for the butcher. 

 Such is the extreme voracity of the pike, that it devours not only 

 other fishes, but also rats and the smaller aquatic fowls ; and its 

 courage is so great, that it will maintain a contest with the otter. 

 It has been known to seize a mule by the nose while drinking 

 at a pond, and so firmly to keep its hold, that the animal could 

 not disengage himself from it until he threw it on shore. 



Longevity is one of the most remarkable characteristics of the 

 pike ; and if the following story, quoted from Gesner, be authen- 

 tic, it certainly possesses that property in an extraordinary de- 

 gree. That author informs us, that a pike was taken at Hail- 

 brun, in Swabia, A. D. 1497, with a brazen ring affixed to it, 

 bearing this inscription, " I am the fish that was first put into 

 this lake by the hands of the governor of the universe, Frederick 

 II. the 6th of October, 1230." 



We shall not endeavour to influence opinion respecting either 

 the truth or the falsehood of this matter, nor attempt to explain 

 the circumstance. If, however, we consider the improbability 

 of the assumption of so bombastic a title by the prince there 

 mentioned, it would almost authorize a conjecture, that the fish, 

 with its ring, might have been thrown into the pond more than 

 two centuries afterwards by some mischievous wag, in order to 

 astonish future naturalists. 



THE SALMON 



Is a fish that may stand in the first rank in regard to utility, 

 and is too well known to need any description. It appears to 

 be chiefly, or perhaps wholly, confined to the northern climates, 

 for it is unknown in the Mediterranean, although it is diffused 

 as far north as Greenland, and is also found on the coast of 

 Kaintschatka. 



In Iceland and Norway, in the Baltic, at Colerain in Ireland, 

 at Berwick-upon-Tweed, at Aberdeen, and various other places 

 in Great Britain, stationary salmon fisheries are established; 

 which are extremely productive, and enrich the occupiers, after 

 paying very considerable rents to the proprietors. In some 

 places, indeed, the salmon constitutes one of the principal re- 



