THE STUKGEONS AND STURGEON INDUSTRIES. 
277 
waiting for advance in the price the eviscerated carcasses with the heads and tails 
removed are packed in their ice-houses without removal of the skiu. This is done 
because it has been found that the flesh keeps longer and in better condition in ice, 
under those circumstances. 
16. THE MANUFACTURE OF CAVIARE, AND THE VALUE OF THIS INDUSTRY 
ON THE DELAWARE. 
The “ cow-fish ” with “ hard roe ” is the only kind that is available in the manufact- 
ure of caviare. In this type the roe is firm and the individual eggs ai’e sufficieutly 
resistant, with their double covering consisting of the egg membrane and the invest- 
ing vascular follicle, not to be readily ruptured and discharge their contents while 
being separated. The roe is carefully removed from the abdominal cavity so as to not 
bring it in contact with water, and as soon after the capture of the fish as possible. 
From three to five pailfuls of roe, each holding gallons of eggs, are removed from 
a single fish. This includes the investing membranes of the ovary, the vessels, and 
supporting tissues of the organ. These portions are in reality a very small part of 
the organ, so that there is but little waste from this source. This waste from the 
sturgeon roe is a favorite bait with fishermen who fish for eels, the eel-pots being 
baited with this refuse by the fishermen operating near the caviare packing establish- 
ments. 
The process of “ rubbing the roe,” as it is called, is very simple. The fresh masses 
of roe are placed upon a screen, which fits over a zinc-lined trough 18 inches deep, 2 
feet wide, and about 4 feet long, and with its bottom sloping to one end, where an out- 
let is arranged. The meshes of the wire screen are just large enough to let the sepa- 
rated eggs fall through as the masses of ova are rubbed back and forth over it by the 
operator. The separated ova fall into the trough and are drawn off at one end through 
an opening closed by a sliding door into clean half- barrel tubs. After the roe is 
brought into the condition in which the eggs are all separated a certain proportion of 
the best German salt, from Liineburg, is added and carefully stirred in with the eggs 
in the tubs. The manipulation of the eggs is done altogether with the hands, and at 
first, when the salt is added to it, the effect is to dry the mass, but very soon the strong 
affinity of the salt for the watery constituents of the ova causes it to abstract their 
water and a brine is formed which soon becomes so copious that the contents of the 
tubs may be. poured. The brine, formed as above, appears in about ten or fifteen 
minutes after the salt is added. The salted eggs are then poured into sieves which 
hold from 8 to 10 pounds of the salted eggs. These sieves, with their contents, 
are then placed upon sloping planks with a strip nailed on each side in order to drain 
off' the brine. After several hours the draining is completed and the product is the 
caviare of commerce. From the sieves the caviare, as the separated and salted ova- 
rian eggs are henceforth known, is transferred to small, oaken casks, holding about 
150 pounds apiece. Into these casks the caviare is carefully packed so as to fill the 
vessel completely, and when closed is ready for the market. 
Careful packers keep the dark aud the light varieties of roe separate, since mixing 
the two gives a speckled appearance to the product which is not desired by the dealers. 
Cleanliness in handling the product is also insisted upon by experienced caviare pack- 
ers. The finest caviare made in America goes to Europe; the inferior grades are 
