-lis THK I-l;i:sll-\VA TKl; I'ISIIKS n!' Kl'lM M'K. 



hdoks; jind the oilier shii'kls aiv similarly stroiii;- in the y(mn<^ lish ; and the 

 youn^'er the Hsh tlie more marked are these characters. As in several otlier 

 species, the lower lobe of the caudal tin is rudimentary, and all the soft rays 

 of the fins are undivided in youn<y specimens. 



Pallas states that hermaphrodites are not rare, in which the ovary is 

 developed on one side and the milt on the other. 



Hungarian fishermen state that the fishes come up the Danuhe in spring-, 

 from March to May, to spawn, and that there is a second migration in the 

 autumn, from August to December. If, however, they spawn in the Danube, 

 young fishes are never seen there. 



In rivers in which the species is still common, its presence is indicated 

 by peculiar movement of the water; and they are sulliciently large to break 

 down considerable obstacles to their progress. 



The fishery in the Danube is carried on in a variety of ways. Lines are 

 stretched over the river, to which bright glistening hooks, without barbs, but 

 well baited, are suspended, and sunk to different depths, so as to intercept 

 'the fishes like a curtain. As the Sturgeon come up they strike the festoons of 

 hooks with their noses, and turn about till they get entangled, when the 

 fisherman seeing the strain on the line, knows where a fish may be found. 

 In the more rapid parts of the Danube, piles are driven into the river so as 

 to leave channels, through which the fishes must pass. When swimming on 

 the top of the water they are harpooned; and they are also shot with ball. 

 When wounded, a rope is passed through the gill-aperture, and the fish is 

 drawn to land. They ai'e also taken with long wide-meshed nets, the 

 o])posite ends of which are secured by fishermen in two boats. When a 

 huiio strikes the net he turns back, and is pursued by the fishermen until 

 driven into shallow water, when it often throws itself on to the bank. In 

 the Volga this species is frequently taken with baited hooks suspended to 

 lines stretched over the river, as in the Danube. It is more useful than the 

 other Sturgeons, on account of its size, but its flesh, isinglass, and roe are 

 not so much valued as those of some of the smaller species. The wholesale 

 price of the fresh Beluga at Astrakhan varied, in 1S82, from three roubles, 

 eig-hty coi)e('ks, to four roubles, thirty-five copecks a pood of thirty-six English 

 ])ouiids, equivalent to about fourpence a pound. It is sold either alive or 

 frozen or salted. It is also dried in the sun (then termed /joUk), and often 

 smoked. 



The method of pre])aral ion of caviare from the r(H> is essentially the same 

 for all si)eeies. The ovaries tVom which the caviare is to b(> made arc lirst of 

 all beaten with rods to loosen the eggs from the tissue in which they are 

 contained; and are t^eparated from this niembraui' by being passed through a 



