304 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. 



the red gurnard or ellick {T. cucuhs), and the sapphirine 

 gurnard (T. hirundo). The gurnard is an excellent table 

 fish. Much of the fish which is now sold as " ofial " — such 

 as latchets, which are a species o£ large gurnard — is 

 equal in quality to turbot, or any other of the fish called 

 " prime " which swim the sea. 



Lampreys. — The lamprey is abundant in many parts 

 of the Caspian Sea, and yet is almost entirely neglected, 

 or only dried to be burnt as a candle. 



The fame of the lamprey — the Mustela of Ausonius 

 and Pliny — is generally known ; that and the sturgeon 

 {Acipenser sturio) were served at table with triumphant 

 pomp ; but the turbot, one of which was brought to 

 Domitian from Ancona, was considered such a present 

 from the gods that this emperor assembled the Senate to 

 admire it. The dorade (Spams atiratm) was even conse- 

 crated to Venus ; the Lahrus scarus was called the brain 

 of Jupiter, and Apuleius and Epicharmus maintain that 

 its very entrails would be relished in Olympus. 



Many kinds of sea-bream (Sparus) are sold for food 

 in the London market. The commonest is the Sparus 

 auratus, a very brilliant fish. 



Sturgeons. — The sturgeon is still considered a royal 

 fish in Britain, but it is not common or inuch esteemed. 

 It was highly appreciated by the ancient Romans and 

 Greeks, and was the principal dish at all great dinner 

 parties. Cicero reproved epicures on account of spend- 

 ing so much money for this fish. Pliny tells us that the 

 sturgeon was served at the most sumptuous tables, and 

 always carried by servants, crowned with garlands of 

 flowers, and accompanied by a band of musicians. Even 

 at this time the fish is rare and dear at Rome. Pickled 

 sturgeon is a favourite food of the colonists of Spain 

 and Portugal in South America, as well as of the in- 

 habitants of the West India Islands, principally during 

 Lent. 



The sturgeon abounds in British Columbia, and in 

 Quebec, and other parts of Canada ; it differs from the fish 

 of the same name of the European waters. It is caught 



