554 THE OCEAN WORLD. 



the muzzle; and its jaws, in place of teeth, are furnished with 

 cartilages. Between the mouth and the muzzle are a few slender 

 and very elastic barbules. It is pretended that these barbules attract 

 small fishes to the jaws of the animal, while it conceals itself among 

 the roots of aquatic plants. 



In the sea the sturgeon feeds on herrings, mackerel, and other 

 fishes of moderate size. In the rivers it attacks the salmon, which 

 ascend them about the same time. Mingling with them, however, 

 it seems a giant. It deposits its eggs in great quantity. The roe of 

 the female fish, when cleaned, washed in vinegar, and dried, is sold as 

 caviare. Its flesh is delicate, and in countries where they are caught 

 in quantities, it is dried and preserved. The rivers which enter the 

 Black and Caspian Seas contain, besides the common sturgeon, many 

 other species of the same genus, the flesh of which is even more 

 delicate and recherche than the common sturgeon. Among the 

 ancients this fish was held in unusual esteem. In Rome, in the 

 time of the Emperors, we read of sturgeons borne in triumph to the 

 sound of instruments, and laid upon tables fastidiously covered and 

 decorated with flowers. 



The Great Sturgeon (Acipenser /mso), which sometimes exceeds 

 1,000 Ibs. in weight, is only found in the rivers which flow into the 

 Caspian and Black Seas, such as the Volga, the Don, and the 

 Danube, 



We are indebted to the Russian naturalist Pallas for the informa- 

 tion we possess respecting the mode of taking the sturgeon in the 

 Volga and other Asiatic rivers. Stakes are placed across the river, 

 leaving just sufficient space between each pile to permit the animal 

 to pass. Towards the centre this dike forms an angle opposed to 

 the current, and, consequently, opposed to the fish which ascend the 

 river towards the summit of this angle. At this point there is an 

 opening which leads into a kind of enclosure, consisting of fillets 

 towards the end of the winter and of osier hurdles during summer. 

 The fishermen establish themselves upon a sort of scaffold, placed 

 over the opening. When the fish are entangled in the reservoir, the 

 men upon the scaffold drop a gate, which prevents their return to the 

 sea. The movable bottom of the chamber is now raised, and the 

 fishes easily taken, as represented in PLATE XXIV. 



The fishermen are informed during the day of the approach of the 

 sturgeons to the great enclosure by the movement they communicate 

 to cords suspended to small floating substances in the water. During 

 the night the sturgeons enter the enclosure, agitating by their move- 

 ments other cords arranged round the hurdles. The agitation 



