158 
PIKE. 
that age, that it was usual to cut open the helly of this fish 
to the extent of two or three inches, in the same manner as 
we have noticed of the Carp, in order to display to the 
purchaser its well-fed condition; and in this state it was pre- 
served alive in the market, to be restored to its native element 
if a sale were not eftected. It was under these circumstances 
of its being thus returned that the Tench was supposed to act 
as the physician, and by licking the wound to cause it to heal 
speedily. So lately as the time of Willoughby and Ray we 
are told that captive Pikes were kept in coops or wooden 
frames afloat in the river at Cambridge, in order to be fattened 
and in constant readiness for the market; and the price of one 
that was full grown, and thus in good condition, might amount 
to twenty shillings, although a Pike of smaller size would be 
sold for as many pence. I possess a memorandum of a Pike 
which, in March, 1752, was caught in Devonshire, in what the 
wi'iter calls Slatton Pool, and which may be supposed the lake 
termed by Montagu, Slapton Ley; the length of which fish 
was two feet and nine inches, the weight nineteen pounds, and 
for which the price demanded was three crowns and a half. 
Three shillings were offered for it and refused; but on the 
following day it was sold for half a crown. But while the 
flesh of this fish may be deemed wholesome, and by some a 
delicacy, it has been said that the roe is dangerous food, and 
by some it has even been pronounced poisonous. We can 
readily believe that on some constitutions, and as an unusual 
food, it may act with considerable violence; but Linnaeus, in 
his travels (Lachesis Lapponica) in Lycksele Lapland, informs 
us that it constitutes a part of the ordinary diet of the people 
of that country; where “the spa^vn is dried, and afterwards 
used as bread, dumplings, and what is called vailing — a sort 
of gruel made by boiling flour or oatmeal in milk or water. 
The livers are thrown away, being supposed to cause drowsiness, 
and pain in the head, when eaten.” The Pikes are dried by 
these people to serve as an important part of their subsistence 
in winter. 
We forbear to speak of the methods employed in fishing for 
the Pike, since these may be found at sufficient length in books 
devoted to the art, from Izaak Walton in his various editions 
down to the latest date of such publications; which the gentle 
