268 • SEVENTH REPORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 



comparatively shoal waters. The food of this sturgeon is made up chiefly of 

 shellfish, including the genera Livincea, jSIclantlio, Pliysa, Planorhis and \'alvata. 

 Eggs of fishes are also to be found in its stomach. 



In Lake Erie the species spawns in June, for which purpose it ascends the rivers 

 in large schools till stopped by obstructions or insufficient depth of water. The 

 breaching of the sturgeon is a well-known habit. Instances are recorded of serious 

 injury to persons by sturgeons throwing themselves into boats. The sturgeon will 

 occasionally take a baited hook, but its great strength and unwieldiness make it an 

 undesirable fish for the angler. 



Large numbers of sturgeon have been destroyed by fishermen during the 

 whitefish season simply on account of the annoyance caused by their presence in 

 the nets. Now that the flesh is esteemed for smoking, and the demand for caviare 

 made from the eggs has largely increased, the wanton waste of this fish has been 

 checked. A troublesome parasite of the sturgeon is the lamprey eel {Pctrojnyzon 

 concolor Kirt.) which attaches itself to the skin presumably for the purpose of 

 feeding on the mucus which is exuded from the pores in great abundance, and 

 remains fixed in one position so long as to penetrate to the flesh and produce a 

 deep ulcerous sore. 



The Lake Sturgeon was formerly not very much prized, but is rapidly growing 

 in favor. The flesh is eaten in the fresh condition or after boiling in vinegar or 

 curing by smoking. Smoked sturgeon is now considered almost if not quite equal 

 lo smoked halibut, and the demand for it is increasing. From the eggs of the 

 sturgeon a good grade of caviare is produced. "The caviare is made by pressing 

 the ova through sieves, leaving the membranes of the ovaries remaining in the 

 riieve, and the eggs fall through into a tub. This is continued until the eggs are 

 entirely free from particles of membrane, when they are put into salt pickle and 

 allowed to remain for some time." 



A large specimen now in the museum of Cornell University is reported as being 

 from Cayuga Lake. Seth Green informed Dr. Meek that sturgeons had occasionally 

 been taken in that lake ; but so far as he knew, they had never been found in any 

 other of the small lakes of Central New York. 



H. V. Kipp, of Montezuma, N. Y., wrote Dr. Meek as follows: "There have not 

 been any sturgeons taken from Cayuga Lake since 1880, but quite a number before 

 that date, and the largest known weighed 35 pounds." 



