120 
THE PIKE, &.C. 
for the well set appetite of man, instead of the sharpened 
teeth and unsalable desires of one of their own species.” 
They generally spawn in the months of March and April, 
and sometimes, in some parts of the country, as early as 
February. Their colors, when in good water and under fa- 
vorable circumstances, are exceedingly beautiful. Smith re- 
marks that “ during the height of the season, their colors are 
extremely brilliant, being green, diversified with bright yel- 
low spots; at the close of the season the green fades to a 
grayish hue; and the yellow spots becomo faint and in- 
distinct.” 
They are fond of still, shady spots, under and near the 
weed called pickerel-weed, and appear to grow better and 
larger in ponds and lakes than in swift running streams. In 
the extreme heat of summer, they are often found near the 
surface, where they are sometimes taken with a wire noose, 
attached to a long pole. They are so bold that they will often 
take a bait after breaking their hold a few minutes previous, 
and they have been taken in several instances with a number 
of hooks imbedded in the flesh in the inside of their mouths. 
In winter, they retreat to the deep holes, and under rocky 
projections, stumps of trees, roots, &c., from which places 
by making a hole in the ice, they are readily taken by spear- 
ing, or with a drop-line with a small live fish for bait. At 
this season of the year their appearance is 6omewhat changed, 
•their colors being less brilliant, and their spots of a darker hue. 
Llaine remarks : 11 The abstinence of the pike and jack is 
no less singular than their voracity ; during the summer 
months then* digestive functions are somewhat torpid, which 
appears a remarkable peculiarity in the pike economy, seeing 
it must be in inverse ratio to the wants of the fish, for they must 
be at this time in a state of emaciation from the effects of 
spawning ; and the circumstance is fortunate, for were the 
appotite as usual, few young fry could escape ; but during 
