Common Sturgeon 



bottom feeder, the net is weighted so that it sinks, wooden 

 buoys called "dabs" attached to the cork line by means of 

 ropes being used to mark the location of the net. The fisher- 

 men drift along behind their net, and when a buoy indicates that 

 a fish has been captured, that section of the net is taken in, the 

 fish hauled into the boat, and the net reset. 



The sturgeon is taken aboard by means of long-handled hooks 

 of round iron. Though of great size, they struggle very little 

 when gilled or when being brought into the boat, and are gen- 

 erally rolled in like a log. The net is usually fished but once a 

 day, and is taken up at slack water, the fishermen returning to 

 camp with the ebb tide. 



By far the most valuable part of the sturgeon is the roe, 

 from which is prepared the very expensive commercial product 

 called caviar. The manner of preparation is, briefly, as follows: 

 After the eggs have been removed from the fish, they are placed 

 in large masses upon a stand, the top of which is formed of a 

 small-meshed screen. On the under side is placed a zinc-lined 

 trough, about 18 inches deep, 2 feet wide, and 4 feet long. The 

 operator gently rubs the mass of eggs back and forth over the 

 screen, whose mesh is just large enough to let the eggs drop 

 through as they are separated from the enveloping membrane. 

 They thus fall into the trough, from which they are drawn off 

 into tubs through a sliding door in one end of the trough. After 

 all the roe has been separated, the tub is removed, and a certain 

 proportion of the best Luneburg salt is added and mixed with 

 the eggs by careful stirring with the hands. This is the most 

 delicate part of the whole process, and the best results can be 

 obtained by that proficiency which comes from long experience. 

 After adding the salt, the eggs at first become dry, but in 10 

 or 15 minutes the salt has drawn from the eggs their watery 

 constituents and a copious brine is formed, which is poured off 

 when the tub becomes too full. The salted eggs are then poured 

 into fine-meshed sieves which hold about 10 pounds each, where 

 they are allowed to drain for 8 to 20 hours. The eggs have 

 now become the caviar of commerce, which is put in casks or 

 cans of various sizes. The cask usually holds 135 pounds, the 

 price of which has increased from $9 to $12 in 1885 to $105 

 in 1899. 



Head 3^; depth 5!; snout 2 in head; eye very small, about 



