8 - THE STURGEONS AND STURGEON INDUSTRIES OF THE EASTERN COAST 
OF THE UNITED STATES, WITH AN ACCOUNT OF EXPERIMENTS BEAR- 
ING UPON STURGEON CULTURE. 
BY JOHN A. RYDER. 
(Plates xxxvii to tax. ) 
Page. 
1. Introduction 231 
2. Systematic review of the sturgeons of the Eastern coast 234 
3. The dermal armature of the body 239 
4. The organs of locomotion 243 
5. The viscera of the sturgeon 246 
6. The lateral-line system of the sturgeon 254 
7. The lymphatics of the sturgeon ^ 255 
8. The development of the sturgeon 257 
9. The sources of the food of the sturgeon 262 
10. Habits of the sturgeon 265 
11. The spawning lish 268 
12. Handling the eggs 271 
13. Obtaining the eggs 273 
14. Methods of sterilizing the water used in hatching the sturgeon 274 
15. Skinning the sturgeon and preparing the flesh for market 276 
16. The manufacture of caviare, and the value of tnis industry on the Delaware 277 
17. Literature relating to the sturgeon 279 
18. Explanation of the plates 281 
1. INTRODUCTION. 
The following studies upon the sturgeons and sturgeon fisheries of the Eastern 
rivers of the United states were undertaken in the spring of 1888 at the suggestion 
of the U. S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, Prof. Marshall McDonald. 
Pursuant of these purposes, I repaired to Delaware City, Delaware, a very impor- 
taut center of the sturgeon fishery, in order to collect data respecting the fishing; also 
to study the variations presented by the individuals of the common sturgeon ; to 
determine the number of species taken in the Delaware River ; their food, relative 
abundance, and value; and to find out, if possible, if artificial propagation might be 
successfully carried on. The latter part of the month of May and nearly the whole 
of June, 1S88, were devoted to these objects. 
231 
