TV/A' 



101 



niatt.T. th:if on.- part .if isjnclass ,lisx,,|\,il in a hundred parts i.f Uiilini; water will form a 

 stiff j.-lly wh-n cold. 



C:i\i:m> in madf from tin- nt.- of this lish. ami as nearly three millions of eggs have been 

 takni from a Mild-' lish. tin- amount .if caviar.- that one Sturgeon can afford if* rather large. It 

 is mailf l>\ remount all tin- membranes, and then washing the roe carefully with vinegar or 

 whit.- "in- I; lii.-l i In. muchly in the air. well salt.-d. subjected to strong pressure 



in onlT to fon-f mt all moist un- <-aiise<l by tin- \\i-t-ab-Mirbinir ]in>]xTtifs of th salt, an. 1 is 

 lastly packed in little bartvls for sal>. Th> mviun> uiadi- in tin- Caspian is considered the 

 beet. In Russia it forms a large iti-m in the national consumption, pnilmbly on account of 

 the great number of fasta observed by the Greek Chun-It. The nx>s of several oth.-r lish are 

 .inploye*! in the name manner, and in Italy, a substance culled "botargo" i prepared from 

 tlu> roe of a specie* of mullet. 



The common Sturgeon has sometimes, but not very often, been foun.l in Kn^lish rivers, 

 and wh.'ii.'V.-r it is captim-d in the Thamen within tin- jurisdiction of the Lord Mayor, it is 



BTUHOEON 



termed a royal fish, and becomes the property of the Crown. It is not unfrequently taken 

 near the English shores, more especially on the eastern coast, and most persons are familiar 

 with the occasional appearance of one of these fine fish on a fishmonger's stall. The flesh of t h>* 

 Sturgeon is held in some estimation; and in the olden English days, it was always reserved for 

 the table of the king. Some very fine specimens have sometimes been caught in English rivers, 

 the largest on record having weighed four hundred and sixty pounds. The size of this speci- 

 men may be imagined from its weight, as another individual which weighed only one hundred 

 and ninety pounds measured eight feet in length. 



The body of the Sturgeon is elongated, and slightly five-sided from the head to the tail. 

 Along the body run five rows of flattened bony plates, each plate being marked with slight 

 grooves in a radiating fashion, and having a pointed and partly conical spine on each plate, 

 the points being directed towards the toil. The plates along the summit of the back are the 

 largest 



