626 SUPPLEMENT ON 



Caspian Sea, in Persia, and the South of that immense con 

 tinent. Nor are they confined to the old world, as they 

 appear to be as abundant in the rivers of North America as 

 elsewhere. 



The sturgeon seems to require migration from salt to fresh 

 water, and back again ; at least, it has been observed, that 

 those which have been caught and confined to one lake 

 or part of a river when young, do not grow and acquire fat 

 like the others ; a muddy bottom seems to suit them best, 

 and they are very seldom caught in the open sea. 



This fish ranks among the largest of its class, sometimes 

 attaining thirty feet in length ; and it is said, that in Norway 

 they sometimes weigh 1000 pounds. Notwithstanding their 

 vast dimensions, however, they feed only on smallish ill- 

 armed fish. In the sea, or near the mouths of rivers, they 

 live principally on herrings and mackerel. In the rivers, 

 they attack salmon, and as they are frequently found in com- 

 pany with these fish, they have been called the salmon's 

 guide. They seem, however, to feed most on worms, and to 

 disturb the muddy bottoms of rivers, in which they delight, 

 something in the manner of hogs with their snout, in search 

 of the small animals which abound there. Gesner thinks, 

 that it is to this habit they owe their name, for the Germans 

 call them Stor, and the verb st'dren signifies to dig the mud. 

 There is a popular notion in Germany, that the}' live on air 

 alone, attributable perhaps to the smallness of their mouth, 

 and a German proverb compares very sober persons to 

 sturgeons. 



The fishermen of the Danube harpoon the sturgeon while 

 sleeping on the sand or mud. Those of the river Po pursue 

 the fish in three or four boats, driving them gently into 

 shallow water, when they suddenly set up a great shout, and 

 the frighted fish run directly aground. 



A great number are taken in the Volga during summer and 



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