THE STURGEON. 



191 



matter, that one part of isinglass dissolved iu a hundred parts ol' boiling water \vill form a 

 stiflf jelly when cold. 



Caviare is made from the roe of this fish, and as nearly three millions of eggs have been 

 taken from a single fish, the amount of caviare that one Sturgeon can afford is rather large. It 

 is made by removing all the membranes, and then washing the roe carefully with vinegar or 

 white wine. It is next dried thoroughly in the air, well salted, subjected to strong pressure 

 in order to force out all moisture caused l\y the wet-absorbing properties of the salt, and is 

 lastly packed in little barrels for sale. The caviare made on the Caspian is considered the 

 best. In Russia it forms a large item in the national consumption, probably on account of 

 the great number of fasts observed by the Greek Church. The roes of several other fish are 

 employed in the same manner, and in Italy, a substance called "botargo" is prepared from 

 the roe of a species of mullet. 



Tlie common Sturgeon has sometimes, but not very often, been found in English livers, 

 and whenever it is captured in the Thames within the jurisdiction of the Lord Mayor, it is 



STURGEON.— .IdpeMer atlUm. 



teiTiied 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 tuie fish on a fishmonger's stall. The flesh of the 

 Sturgeon is held in some estimation ; and in tlie 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 individxial 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 tail. The plates along the summit of the back are the 

 largest. 



