37 



is eaten, either fresh or pickled, and when dried and 

 smoked is sold as halibut. The bladder, which is large, is 

 converted into isinglass and glue. The skin is sometimes 

 tanned, and even the dorsal cord is cut and dried and used 

 as food. Every bit of waste is tried out for oil. The head 

 is cooked and eaten by the Indians. The roe is much the 

 most valuable part of the lisli. In the full-grown lish it 

 weighs from lifteen to forty pounds and upwards, and at 

 times constitutes nearly one-third the weiglit of the tish. 

 From this caviare is made. The eggs are rubbed with the 

 hand through a sieve until they are se^^arated from the 

 connecting membrane, and then a line German salt is 

 added, and the product thoroughly stirred with the hand 

 and drained. It is then dried and packed in kegs for 

 shipment. It is eaten as a relish and used as a substitute 

 for meat in sandwiches. It is quite rich, and has a decided 

 lishy, oily, and salty flavor. It is highly prized by the 

 Russians, and is said to be much used in fast seasons in 

 Italy, Greece, and Turkey, It flnds a ready market in 

 this country in St, Louis, Sandusky, New York, Philadel- 

 jihia, and Pittsburgh, 



The sturgeon is taken largely in pond-nets, and a good 

 many are caught by set lines in the narrow, deep channels 

 that traverse the St, Claire Flats, near Detroit. A strong 

 line is stretched upon stakes on either bank of these chan- 

 nels, and from this depend many shorter lines to which 

 are attached large hooks which rest on the bottom. The 

 sturgeon, in rolling upon the bottom, becomes entangled 

 in these hooks and is captured with a gaff. 



The Michigan Fish Commission last year tried the ex- 

 periment of artificial propagation of this valuable fish. A 

 station was selected at Algonac, a small village on the 

 St. Clair River, where a caviare factory was in operation. 

 The fish that are handled there are caught principally in 

 the channels of the St. Clair Flats by the Indians, Canucks- 

 and half-breeds in the manner above described ; they are 



