STURGEON. 139 



THE STURGEON. 



There are two varieties of this singular fish : 

 " Accipenser Sturio" of Linnaeus and Cuvier, and 

 the broad-nosed or " Accipenser Laterostris," both 

 just the same in habits and of equal value as an 

 article of food. It is caught occasionally on 

 different parts of the coast, but mostly in estuaries 

 or the embouchures of rivers ; it is so seldom 

 caught in the open sea that it is believed to live 

 in water so deep as to be out of reach of nets, and 

 it is never caught with lines. When caught in 

 the river Thames within the lord mayor's juris- 

 diction, it is called a royal dish, from the old 

 custom of reserving it exclusively for the English 

 King Henry the First's table. They are some- 

 times caught of immense size, even as much as 

 five hundred pounds weight each. There are vast 

 fisheries in the north of Europe for this fish ; the 

 Russians especially are very celebrated for the 

 caviare they make of the roc and isinglass from 

 the air-bladder. The flesh when eaten fresh with 

 rich gravies, &c., is thought to taste like veal; 

 it is also pickled and salted in immense quantities. 



