THE STURGEON 37 
and Danish it is called si#r, from sfra, to stir; and the 
word found its way into Low Latin as sturio. The allusion 
is to the ground-feeding habits of the fish, wallowing and 
raking at the bottom in search of food. In this country we 
have few opportunities of studying the behaviour of the 
sturgeon, for, although a tolerably frequent visitor to our 
rivers, it is only the stragglers that wander to our shores, 
and we never witness the migration of vast numbers which is 
such a notable seasonal feature in the mightier rivers of the Con- 
tinent. Therefore the Germanic conquerors of England must 
have brought with them the name of the fish whereof they 
were familiar with the habits. 
The adult sturgeon is so distinct in appearance that it 
can never be mistaken for any other kind of fish; and 
immature specimens are not likely to occur in this 
country, owing to lack of spawning accommodation. 
No doubt these fish, when they ascend our rivers, do so 
with the intention of reproduction ; but their great size is so 
much out of proportion to the scale of our insular waters, 
and betrays their presence so surely, that it is very improbable 
that they ever succeed in depositing their ova. In form the 
sturgeon alters greatly in progressive stages of growth. The 
snout of young fish is very long and turned upwards; it 
shortens and broadens with maturity, and loses the upward turn. 
In colour the adult fish varies from reddish-brown to 
yellowish- and bluish-grey on the back; the bony plates 
are grey, the belly silvery white, and the iris yellow. The 
plates along the back usually number from eleven to 
thirteen; those on the sides six- or seven-and-twenty in 
each line ; those on the ventral lines nine or ten in each. 
The sturgeon is what is termed an anadromous fish— 
literally, a ‘“running-up” fish, or one that ascends rivers 
from the sea at regular intervals in order to 
spawn. This operation takes place in spring or 
early summer, according to latitude and temperature. The 
Appearance, 
Habits, 
