THE STURGEON. 
191 
matter, that one part of isinglass dissolved in a hundred parts of boiling water will form a 
stiff 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 by 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. 
The common Sturgeon has sometimes, but not very often, been found in English rivers, 
and whenever it is captured in the Thames within the jurisdiction of the Lord Mayor, it is 
STURGEON .— Acipenser attilus. 
termed 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 fine fish on a fishmonger’ s stall. The flesh of the 
Stuigeon is held in some estimation; and in the 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 individual 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, 
