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A DESCRIPTION OF 
THE PIKE. (Esox lucius.) 
THE body of this fish is a pale olive-grey, deepest on 
the back, and marked on the sides by several yellowish 
spots or patches ; the abdomen white, slightly spotted 
with black : its length is from four to eight feet. The 
flesh is white and firm, and considered very wholesome ; 
the larger and older it is, the more it is esteemed. There 
is scarcely any fish of its size in the world, that in vora- 
city can equal the Pike. It lives in rivers, lakes, and 
ponds ; and in a confined piece of water it will soon de- 
stroy all other fish, as it generally does not feed upon any- 
thing else, and often swallows one nearly as big as itself; 
for through its greediness in eating, it takes the head 
foremost, and so draws it in by little and little at a time, 
till it has swallowed the whole. A gudgeon of good size 
has been found in the stomach of a large Pike, the head 
of which had already received clear marks of the power of 
digestion, whilst the rest of the fish was still fresh and un- 
impaired. 
" I have been assured (says Walton) by my friend Mr. 
Seagrave, who keeps tame otters, that he has known a 
