446 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



of roes, and If to 2-j- in the winter. The less the caviare is 

 salted, the more it is esteemed. 



At lirst the eggs, mixed with salt, exhibit a pasty appear- 

 ance when stirred; but after each grain is thoroughly im- 

 pregnated with the salt, the mass swells, and when stirred 

 there is a slight rustling, similar to what would be the case 

 in the stirring of fine particles of glass. This is a sign that 

 the preparation is complete. The caviare is then placed in 

 casks of linden wood, which imparts no unpleasant taste, as 

 might be the case with most other materials. 



To prepare the pressed caviare, a tub half filled with pickle, 

 more or less strong with salt, according to the temperature 

 of the season, is placed under the net-work. To secure a thor- 

 ough impregnation of the eggs by the pickle, the mass is 

 stirred with a wooden fork, turning it always from the same 

 side. Then the eggs are strained out, and when thoroughly 

 drained a quantity of about 100 pounds is placed in a sack, 

 and subjected to the action of a press, in order to remove all 

 the pickle, and convert the whole into a compact mass, as 

 curd is converted into cheese. In thus preparing the caviare 

 a number of the eggs are broken, and a portion of the con- 

 tents runs off with the pickle, so that for each pond there is 

 a loss often to twelve pounds. After removing the pressed 

 caviare from the box, it is placed in casks, holding about thir- 

 ty pounds, the interior of which is lined with napkin cloth, on 

 which account, in commerce, this always bears the name of 

 "napkin caviare." The better quality of the pressed caviare 

 that is to say, that which has been less mashed and salted 

 is placed in narrow, cylindrical cloth bags, and it is then 

 called bag caviare. Caviare is also transported in boxes of 

 tin, hermetically sealed. Fresh caviare is always preferred 

 to the pressed, but is more expensive. Thus, at Astrachan, 

 fresh caviare is worth from 30 to 35 rubles (the value of the 

 ruble is about IS cents) the pond, while the pressed is worth 

 only 24. It is much more profitable to prepare the green 

 caviare than the pressed, as it brings a better price, takes 

 less salt, and requires less labor. There are exported every 

 year from Astrachan about 11,000 ponds of caviare, which 

 goes especially to Berlin, Dresden, and Vienna. 



In commerce, the caviare from the roe of the Belouga stur- 

 geon (Acipenser huso) is more esteemed than that from the 



