K. DOMESTIC AND HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 447 



A. stellatus. The best of all is that of the sterlet (A. ruthe- 

 nus) ; but this scarcely enters into commerce. The different 

 kinds of sturgeon have roes differing in size, this depending 

 upon the quality of the fish, the season, and the particular 

 place of capture. The roes of sturgeon which are taken in 

 the sea, between the 8th of July and the 15th of August, are 

 allowed to remain only a few hours in the pickle, and they 

 are then removed, and placed, without being pressed, in casks 

 of five to ten pouds. If, on touching the roes, they are found 

 to be tender, and the ovaries have already begun to decay, 

 the roe, ovaries, and all are thrown into the pickle, so that 

 the whole may be impregnated with salt. This is the most 

 inferior quality, and is shipped in casks of twenty-seven pouds 

 each, and is worth only three or four rubles per poud. This 

 is known as summer caviare. The total amount of caviare 

 obtained in the Caspian Sea fisheries amounts in one year 

 to 139,000 pouds (about 5,020,000 pounds), worth 1,390,000 

 rubles, or $1,103,000. Report of Alexander Schultz, Vienna 

 Exposition, 1873, 44. 



SPINAL COLUMN OF THE STURGEON AS AN ARTICLE OF FOOD. 



Among the preparations of the sturgeon, which is utilized 

 to so great an extent on the shores of the Caspian Sea, is 

 one called veziga, which consists simply of the dorsal cord 

 dried. As soon as the fish is disemboweled and the roe and 

 air-bladder are removed, a cut is made along the back, 

 the finger inserted, and the whole gelatinous vertebral col- 

 umn taken out. This is washed carefully in water, and com- 

 pressed so as to bring out all the soft matter it contains; 

 after which it is dried from three to eight days, according to 

 the temperature. It is then made up into packets, of which 

 750 form a poud (36 pounds). When boiled, this substance 

 swells, and is then cut up very fine and used as a composition 

 for excellent fish-balls. It sells for $11 to $15 per poud. 

 Fisheries of the Arctic Seas, Schidtz, 1873, G7. 



USE OF HORSE-FLESH IN FRANCE. 



The committee for introducing the use of horse-flesh into 

 France reports that, during the first six months of 1867, 893 

 horses, asses, and mules were sold in Paris, the weight of 

 which amounted to 166,000 kilogrammes. During the first 



