188 



THE COMMON STURGEON. 



THE STURGEON. 



ashy or sooty on the upper parts, and yellowish-white on 

 the under ; so that it can by no means claim attention 

 on the score of brilliancy. 



Notwithstanding its strength and size and even the 

 Common Sturgeon (Accipenser sturio) sometimes measures 

 eighteen feet from snout to tail it is dangerous only to 

 those inhabitants of the waters which are unable to de- 

 fend themselves : such as worms, for which it roots 

 among the mud like a hog ; herrings, mackerel, ducks 

 and wild geese; and salmon, too, which, ascending the 

 rivers at the same time as the sturgeon, are terribly 

 thinned in numbers by the latter, a fact which originated 

 the old idea that the sturgeon was the " captain " or 

 " leader of the salmon." 



