1871.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
173 
Sturgeons and their Products. 
The sturgeons present some striking peculi¬ 
arities. The skeleton never becomes bony, but 
, remains throughout the life of the fish in the 
condition of cartilage. The surface of the body 
is furnished with large bony plates, which are 
placed in five longi¬ 
tudinal rows. There 
is but one back-fin, 
which is situated 
-well toward the tail. 
The mouth is placed 
under the elongated, 
and often pointed 
snout, is toothless, 
and in front of it 
hang four barbels, 
or thread-like ap¬ 
pendages. The gills 
are concealed by 
gill - covers, each 
having an opening, 
which is protected 
by an operculum. 
Most of the species 
inhabit the sea, and 
ascend the rivers to 
spawn; but there 
are some peculiar to 
. fresh - water lakes. 
The sturgeons be¬ 
long to the genus 
Acipenser, which is 
the Greek name for a fish much prized by 
the ancients, and believed to be the sturgeon. 
The most important species is the sturgeon of 
the Black and Caspian Seas, Acipenser Huso. 
This species, which grows to the length of 
twenty or twenty-five feet, furnishes the most 
valued isinglass and caviare. The best Russian 
isinglass is the swimming-bladder of this species, 
merely washed and dried. It is nearly pure 
gelatine, and is almost entirely soluble in hot 
water. Less valued kinds of isinglass are pro¬ 
cured from other 
sturgeons, and some 
from other kinds of 
fish. Caviare is the 
roe of the female 
sturgeon, prepared 
by salting and dry¬ 
ing. This is highly 
esteemed as an ar¬ 
ticle of food in 
Russia, Germany, 
and other parts of 
Europe, and is kept 
at the German res¬ 
taurants in this 
country. About 
9,000 persons are 
said to be engaged 
in the Caspian 
sturgeon fisheries. 
The sturgeon busi¬ 
ness at various 
points upon the 
Hudson River is of 
| considerable im- 
! portance, some of 
the fisheries giving 
employment to fifty men. The sturgeon, though 
so large a fish, is easily caught in nets. The species 
caught in the Hudson is principally the sharp¬ 
nosed sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrhyncus. It is 
captured mainly for its flesh, though we believe 
that caviare is made at some of the establish¬ 
ments. Considerable quantities of the fish are 
pickled and smoked. Sturgeon is frequently 
offered in the New York markets, but by far 
the greatest share caught in the Hudson finds 
its way to Albany, and all along the river the 
fish is known as “ Albany beef.” As many as 
seventy-five sturgeons, weighing in the aggre¬ 
gate about nine tons, have been taken to Al¬ 
bany by one of the steamers at one trip. The 
flesh of the sturgeon has a light red color, and 
the fat is pale yellow. It is eaten fried and 
roasted, but seldom boiled. It is by some 
highly prized as an article of food. Several 
years ago the writer tried it, and has since had 
no desire to repeat the experiment. The spoon¬ 
billed sturgeon of our western rivers belongs to 
another genus. It lias no bony plates upon its 
body, and its snout is expanded into a broad 
thin plate, sometimes nearly as long as the body. 
MUSK-OX. 
The Musk-Ox. —(Ovibos moschatus). 
Of the Bovinse, or Oxen, we have in this 
country but two native species : the well known 
Buffalo, Bos Amencanus , and the very rare 
Musk-Ox, Ovibos moschatus. The genus Ovibos 
is distinguished by its horns, which curve out¬ 
ward and downward, and by its muffle, which is 
hairy, except a small place between the nostrils. 
As its name Ovibos implies, it partakes of the 
characters of both the sheep and the ox, and 
some naturalists classify it with the sheep and 
goat. The male Musk-Ox is about the size of a 
two-year-old cow. The horns meet on the 
summit of the head ; 
they are broad and 
flat, and curve 
downward between 
the eyes and the 
ears until opposite 
the mouth,when the 
points are turned 
upward. The hair, 
which is brownish- 
black, is very long 
and thick, and 
hangs down below 
the middle of the 
leg. Beneath the 
hair is a soft ash- 
colored wool of an 
exceedingly fine 
quality, which af¬ 
fords the animal 
ample protection 
against the rigors of 
an arctic winter. 
The animal’s tail is 
so short that it was 
at first described as 
tailless. The Musk- 
Ox is found from latitude 60° to as far north as 
land extends. It is found in small herds of twenty 
or thirty; when attacked, the cows run, but the 
bulls show fight, and prove dangerous antago¬ 
nists. It is very nimble in its movements, and 
climbs hills and rocks with great ease. Its 
food is lichens and grasses. The flesh, when 
the animal is fat, is said to be of agreeable flavor, 
but when poor and lean it smells strongly of 
musk. The fossil remains of this ox are said 
to be found upon the northwest coast, and 
those of the same, 
or a closely allied 
species, in Siberia, 
ougli this ani- 
is found living 
only upon I his con¬ 
tinent, it lias been 
exceedingly difficult 
for our naturalists 
to obtain specimens 
from which to de¬ 
scribe it. For a long 
time the only speci¬ 
men known was 
one sent to England 
by Hearne, a cele¬ 
brated traveler. 
Some years ago 
stuffed specimen 
was presented by 
Doctor Kane, to 
the collection of 
the Academy of 
Natural Sciences at 
Philadelphia, where 
it remains, so far as 
we are aware, the 
only representative of the species in the coun¬ 
try. We do not know that any attempts have 
been made to domesticate the musk-ox, and it 
is doubtful if it would endure the climate of 
even the northernmost of our States. Still the 
exquisite fineness of its wool, said to excel that 
of any other animal, makes it desirable that the 
SHAEP-NOSED, BLUNT-NOSED, AND SHOVEL-NOSED STURGEONS. 
