THE STURGEONS. 527 
The Sturgeon is prone to jump out of the water “at an angle,” and may 
project its body for some distance ; it is indeed so active that it sometimes 
leaps into small boats ; it is recorded that one “large individual had actually 
jumped from the water high enough to go through one of the dead-lights, 
near the water’s edge, in the hull of a passing passenger side-wheel steamer, 
and thus find itself an unexpected prisoner in the hold of the vessel.” 
As spring approaches, the Sturgeon leaves its ocean winter-home and 
seeks the river. It passes upwards till it reaches fresh water, but “the 
upward movements of the schools seem to be affected to some extent by 
a rise of the prevalent temperature of the water and air, thus making the 
fishing for the time more profitable. Conversely, a decline in the prevailing 
temperature is often apparently followed by a diminution in the numbers of 
the fish on their way up the river, and a cold, late season retards the ap- 
pearance of the fish from the salt waters farther south. A very rainy 
season, which has caused an unusually abundant flow of fresh water down 
the river, also interferes with their early appearance in the waters above 
Delaware City. This is supposed to be due to the fact that the water 
becomes fresh farther south down than usual, where the schools then 
remain to deposit their spawn.” 
The period in which most spawning fishes “have been observed at 
Delaware City is during the month of May, especially the latter half of the 
month.” The spawning fishes, distinguished as “runners,” are usually 
most abundant about the middle or end of a “run” or school. The ripe 
females “seek a hard bottom to deposit their spawn in from 1 to 5 fathoms 
of water.” They oviposit “by rubbing the belly against hard places in the 
river bottom,” and this labor is assisted by the males, generally two or more 
to each female, who press against her abdomen, “thus favoring the extru- 
sion of the eggs and at the same time discharging their own milt to fertilize 
the ova.” The skin of the spent female often becomes quite inflamed as a 
result of irritation. These spent females are called “slunkers,” and are of 
little value, but after a time, under favorable conditions, they become plump 
“cow-fishes,” and their flesh is then regarded as better than during the 
spawning season. 
For making caviar, the best roes are those not entirely matured for 
spawning, but when they are “hard roes.” The quantity of eggs varies 
with the size and condition of a female, and may range between five and 
fifteen gallons, or from three to five pailfuls in bulk, and from about 800,000 
to 2,400,000 in number. The color of the fully ripe eggs is generally 
