274 A HISTORY OF 



the celebrated epicures of Rome, were loud in his praises: no man's 

 fish had such a flavour, was so nicely fed, or so exactly pickled. Au- 

 gustus, hearing so much of this man's entertainments, desired to be 

 his guest; and soon found that fame had been just to his merits; the 

 man had indeed very fine lampreys, and of an exquisite flavour. The 

 emperor was desirous of knowing the method by which he fed his fish 

 to so fine a relish; and the glutton, making no secret of his art, in- 

 formed him that his way was to throw into his ponds such of his slaves 

 as had at any time displeased him. Augustus, we are told, was riot 

 much pleased with this receipt, and instantly ordered all his ponds to 

 oe filled up. The story would have ended better if he had ordered 

 the owner to be flung in also. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE STURGEON AND ITS VARIETIES. 



THE Sturgeon, with a form as terrible, and a body as large, as the 

 shark, is yet as harmless as the fish we have been just describing; in- 

 capable and unwilling to injure others, it flies from the smallest fishes, 

 and generally falls a victim to its own timidity. 



The sturgeon, in its general form, resembles a fresh-water pike. 

 The nose is long; the mouth is situated beneath, being small, and 

 without jaw-bones or teeth. But, though it is so harmless and ill pro- 

 vided for war, the body is formidable enough to appearance. It is 

 long, pentagonal, and covered with five rows of large, bony knobs, 

 one row on the back and two on each side, and a number of fins 

 to give it greater expedition. Of this fish there are three kinds ; the 

 Common Sturgeon, the Caviar Sturgeon, and the Huso, or Isinglass- 

 fish. The first has eleven knobs or scales on the back ; the second 

 has fifteen ; and the. latter thirteen on the back, and forty-three on the 

 tail. These differences seem slight to us who only consider the ani- 

 mal's form ; but those who consider its uses find the distinction of 

 considerable importance. The first is the sturgeon, the flesh of which 

 is sent pickled into all parts of Europe. The second is the fish from 

 the roe of which that noted delicacy called Caviar is made; and the 

 third, besides supplying the caviar, furnishes also the valuable com- 

 mo^ity of isinglass. They all grow to 'a very great size, and some of 

 them have been found above eighteen feet long. 



There is not a country in Europe but what, this fish visits at differ- 

 ent seasons ; it annually ascends the largest rivers to spawn, and pro- 

 pagates in an amazing number. The inhabitants along the banks of 

 the Po, the Danube, and the Wolga, make great profit yearly of its 

 incursions up the streams, and have their nets prepared for its recep- 

 tion. The sturgeon also is brought daily to the markets of Rome and 

 Venice, and they are known to abound in the Mediterranean sea 



