lbO 
NATURAL HISTORY. 
salt and saumure. This is tlie sturgeon which is sold in Eng- 
land, and of which great quantities come from the North? 
A very great trade is also carried on with the roe of the 
sturgeon, preserved in a particular manner, and called Ca- 
viar : it is made from the roe of all kinds of sturgeon, bur 
particularly the second. This is much more in request in 
other countries of Europe than with us. To all these high 
relished meats, the appetite must be formed by degrees ; and 
though formerly even in England it was very much in re- 
quest at the politest tables, it is at present sunk entirely into 
disuse. It^is still, however, a considerable merchandize 
among the Turks, Greeks, and Venetian s. Caviar some- 
what resembles soft soap in consistence; but it is of a 
brown, uniform colour, and is eaten as cheese with bread. 
The Huso , or Isinglass j'tsh. furnishes a still more valua- 
ble commodity. 1 his hsh is caught in great quantities in the 
Danube, from the months of October to January: it is 
seldom under fifty pounds weight, and often above four 
hundred : its flesh is soft, glutinous, aucl flabby ; but it is 
sometimes salted, which makes it better tasted, and then it 
turns ted like salmon. It is for the commodity it furnishes 
that, it is chiefly taken. The manner of making it is this : 
they take the skin, (he entrails, the fins, and the tail of this 
fish, and cut them into small pieces; t'hese are left to mace- 
rate in a sufficient quantity of warm water, and they are all 
boiled shortly after with a slow file, until they are dissolved 
and reduced to a jelly : this jelly is spread upon instru- 
ments made for the purpose, so that in drying, it assumes the 
form of parchment, and, when quite dry, it is then rolled 
into the form which we see it in the shops. This valuable 
commodity is principally furnished from Russia, where they 
prepare great quantities surprisingly cheap. 
The Angler, or Fishing Frog, in shape verv much 
resembles a tadpole., or young frog, but of an enormous size, 
for it grows to above five feet long, and its mouth is some- 
times a yard wide. The eyes are placed on the top of the 
head, and are encompassed with prickles ; immediately above 
the nose are two long beards or filaments, small in the be- 
ginning, but thicker at the end, and round ; these, as it is 
said, answer a very singular purpose ; for, being made some- 
what resembling a fishing-line, it is asserted, that the animal 
converts them to the purpose of fishing. With these ex- 
tended, the fishing frog is said to hide in muddy waters, 
and to leave nothing but the beards to be seen ; the curio- 
