FISHEEIES AND SEAL-HUNTING. 61 



the Alosa, the Leuciscus rutilus, and the Cyprinus carpio, L. The Core- 

 gonus Icucichthys and the Salmo salar are less important, and still less the 

 Esox lucius and other small scaly fish. Pickled lamprey (Petromyzon 

 fluviaUlis) might form a considerable article of commerce, but, on the 

 T6rek, it is entirely neglected, and, on the Koura, it is dried and used 

 as candles. 



The first establishment for pickling lampreys was opened in the city 

 of Tsaritsyn, after the close of the year 1871; and up to February, 1873, 

 700 casks, containing about 1,200,000 lampreys, had arrived at St. Pe- 

 tersburg, weighing not less than 56 kilograms (about 123 pounds) to 

 the thousand, and being exceedingly well pickled ; they are sold from 

 12 to 14 "roubles" ($8.42 to $9.80 gold) a thousand. 



2.— SPAWNING-SEASON OF THE FISH IN THE CASPIAN SEA. 



At Astrachan, the Volga is usually free from ice from the beginning 

 of April, and the different kinds of fish arrive from the Caspian Sea 

 about that time. The first to arrive is the Scardinius erythroplithalmus, 

 L.; the "vobla," (Leuciscus rutilus,) chased there during its capricious 

 leaps from the water by the voracious "belouga"; this is followed by 

 the Esox lucius, pike; then by the Abramis, and by the Lucioperca, 

 sandre. From the 20th of April till the 5th of May, the Alosa, or so- 

 called herrings, appear in immense schools ; then the " sevriouga," (Aci- 

 penser stellatus,) sturgeon ; the Silurus glanis, Wels; the Cyprinus carpio, 

 L., carp ; and, finally, tbe Acipenser Guldenstddtii, sturgeon. 



Most of the scaly fish spawn in April or in May, and for this purpose 

 seek the shallow water, where there is but little current, and where aquatic 

 plants are numerous, and where fishing is strictly prohibited from the 15th 

 of April till the 15th of May, in order that the spawning-process may not 

 be interrupted. The salmon and the "cleinaya," (Aspius clupeoides,) 

 which are caught in large numbers in the Terek and in tbe Koura, usu- 

 ally spawn in August and September, the first-mentioned on sandy bot- 

 toms. 



The spawning-season of the sturgeon commences in the Volga in June 

 and lasts till the end of July ; in the Ural, it lasts from the middle of 

 April till the middle of June. They prefer a hard and stony bottom. 

 Only three hundred and eighty "versts"(two hundred and nineteen 

 miles) above Astrachan, near Sarepta, the bottom of the river is of this 

 character. In order to let the different kinds of sturgeon enjoy the rest 

 which they require, the fishing-regulations forbid fishing in the Volga, 

 as well in the river as in its branches, from the 15th of May till the 15th 

 of July. Nevertheless, fishing is permitted exceptionally, to supply the 

 local want, from the 15th of June till the 15th of July, between tbe Cas- 

 pian Sea and the town of Tchornoi-Yar, two hundred and twenty -five 

 "versts" (one hundred and twenty -nine miles) above Astrachan, with 

 floating nets 90 " sagenes" (G30 feet) long aud 1 " sagene" (7 feet) deep. 



Careful observations have shown that during tbe time immediately 



