The best time for their biting is betwixt spring and summer, as at that time they are very greedy; and the angler, with good management, may take all that are in the hole, at one standing, if there were ever so many. The Pearch will bite all day long, if it be cloudy; but the best time is from eight till ten in the morning, and from three till six in the afternoon. It is very abstemious in the winter, and will seldom bite; if it does at all, it is in the middle of the day. All fish bite best at this time of the day in that season. [Illustration: _Lucius. The Pike or Jack._ _Eliza. Albin delin. 1740._] _The PIKE_ Is the Lucius Esox of Linnæus. It has a very flat head; the upper jaw is broad, and shorter than the lower, which turns up a little at the end; the body is long, slender, and compressed sideways; the teeth are very sharp, disposed only in the front of the upper jaw, but in both sides of the lower; sometimes in the roof of the mouth, and frequently in the tongue. The eyes are small, and the slit of the mouth very wide; the dorsal fin is placed very low on the back, and consists of twenty-one rays; the pectoral of fifteen, the ventral of eleven, and the anal, of eighteen; the tail is bifurcated. They are to be found in most of the lakes in Europe. Lapland produces very large ones, some eight feet long; they are dried there, and exported for sale. The Pike was introduced into England in the reign of Henry VIII. in 1537, when a Pike was sold for double the price of a house lamb in February. Besides its usual food, fish and frogs, it devours water-rats and young ducks. It is remarkable for its longevity: we read of one that lived till ninety years old, and of another that was no less than two hundred and seventy years old. [Illustration: _Rubellio. The Roach._ _E. Albin Del: 1739._] _The ROACH_ Is the English name of a very common fish, called by some authors the Rutilius and Rubiculus, and by others the Rubellio. It is a species of the Cyprinus, according to the new system of Artedi, and the Cyprinus Rutilius of Linnæus. It has been looked upon (though without much reason) remarkable for its liveliness and vivacity, from which comes the proverb “sound as a Roach.” In some parts of the world, this fish will only live in standing waters: it thrives very much in ponds and deep, still rivers: it is very remarkable for its progeny; a pond being sooner stocked with this fish than any other. [Illustration] [Illustration: _Clupea: Halachie. A Shad._ _Eleazar Albin Del. June 30. 1736._] _The SHAD_