362 STURIONID.E. 



the term being intended to imply that it ought to be sent 

 to the King, and it is said that the Sturgeon was exclusively 

 reserved for the table of Henry the First of England. 



On our Southern coast, Colonel Montagu mentions one 

 taken in the estuary at Kingsbridge ; and Mr. Couch enu- 

 merates three instances at different periods of different years; 

 one in the Tamar in June, one at Plymouth in August, 

 and one near the Eddystone in January. In September 

 1802, a specimen, eight feet long, and weighing one hundred 

 and ninety-two pounds, was caught in a weir below the castle 

 at Shrewsbury. The largest specimen taken in this country 

 is probably the fish recorded by Pennant, which was caught 

 in the Esk, and weighed four hundred and sixty pounds. 



In Ireland the Sturgeon has been taken on the south, the 

 east, and the north coasts. 



In the northern parts of Europe this fish is much more 

 numerous than with us, and extensive fisheries are establish- 

 ed for its destruction. Caviar .is made of the roe of the 

 female ; isinglass is obtained from the dense membrane form- 

 ing the air-bladder ; and the flesh, besides being preserved by 

 salting and pickling, is in request for the table while fresh, 

 being generally stewed with rich gravy, and the flavour 

 considered to be like that of veal. The flesh, like that of 

 most of the cartilaginous fishes, is more firm and compact 

 than is usual among those of the osseous families. 



The Sturgeon, as has been before observed, is oviparous, 

 spawning in winter. It has been frequently remarked that 

 Sturgeons of very small size are seldom seen : by the kindness 

 of Mr. George Daniell, however, I possess a small specimen, 

 only twelve inches long, that is quite perfect, and exhibits 

 all the characters of the mature fish. " It is presumed that 

 the young, as soon as they escape from the eggs, which the 

 female deposits in fresh Avater, descend immediately to the 

 sea, and do not visit the places of their birth again till they 



