ON THE BEST KINDS OP FISH I'OR EIVEES. 155 



with in the Thames. This shad comes into the 

 rivers to spawn, before the Twaite, usually appearing 

 in AprU. For the table, it is very much the best fish 

 of the two. Shad may be taken both by the bait 

 and with the fly. The shad may be also considered 

 as rather more of a salt than a fresh-water fish ; and 

 as in the case of the salmon, it is driven from the 

 Thames by the sewage. The higher it ascends a river 

 the better its flavour and condition becomes ; and, as 

 it is a valuable and prolific fish, it should not be 

 neglected in any scheme for improving our fresh- 

 water fisheries. No doubt the Alliee shad could be 

 introduced, by artificial breeding, to other of our 

 rivers, where it would be highly acceptable. 



The Sturgeon occasionally enters our rivers, but it 

 is such a partial visitor that little is known about it 

 in connexion with them. The flesh is said to be 

 excellent, resembling veaL The great fisheries for 

 sturgeon are ia the Caspian Sea and the rivers that 

 enter it, (more particularly the Volga,) in the Danube, 

 and the Baltic. It is possible that, by the transport 

 of ova, we might much increase the numbers of 

 this valuable fish in our waters, and induce it to 

 become a more regular visitant to the larger rivers.^ 



• The French have included the sturgeon and the sterlet in the 

 list of fish to be aeolimatised, but the difficulties and expense of 



