THE STURGEON 37 



and Danish it is called stir, from stira, to stir ; and the 

 word found its way into Low Latin as sfurio. 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 

 Appearance. \ . J 



country, owing to lack or 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 



Habits. 5 ^ 



spawn. 1 his operation takes place in spring or 



early summer, according to latitude and temperature. The 



