Class IV. P I K E. 3^t 



one of its own fpecies that proved too large a mor- 

 fel. Yet its jaws are very loofely Gonne(5led ; and 

 have on each fide an additional bone like the jaw 

 of a viper, which renders thenn capable of greater 

 diftenfion v/hen it fwallows its prey. It does not 

 confine itfeif to feed on fifh and frogs ^ it will 

 devour the water rat, and draw down the young 

 ducks as they are fwimming about. In a manu- 

 fcript note which we found, p. 244, of our copy 

 of Plott's Hiftory of Stafford/hire^ is the following 

 extraordinary fadl : " At Lord Gower's canal at 

 " 'Trentham^ a pike feized the head of a fwan as 

 " fhe was feeding under water, and gorged fa 

 " much of it as killed them both. The fervants 

 " perceiving the fwan with its head under water 

 " for a longer time than ufual, took the boat^ 

 " and found'both fwan and pike dead*."' 



But there are inflances of its fiercenefs dill more 

 furprizing, and which indeed border a little on the 

 marvellous. Gefner-f relates, that a famiihed pike 

 in the Rhone feized on the lips of a mule that was 

 brought to water, and that the bead drew the fifh 

 out before it could difengage itfeif. That people 

 have been bit by thefe voracious creatures while 

 they were walhing their legs, and that they will 



* This note we afterwards difcovered was wrote hj Mr. 

 Ploti, of Oxford, who affiired me he infsrted it on good an- 

 thority. 



-|- Gefner pifc* 503. 



Vol. in. Y even. 



