THE STURGEON, (Acipenser sturio,)
Sometimes grows to the length of eight or ten feet, and has been found to weigh five hundred pounds. It has a long, slender, pointed nose, small eyes, and a small mouth destitute of teeth, placed beneath and unsupported by the maxillæ; so that when the animal is dead, the mouth remains always open. The body is covered with five rows of large bony tubercles, and the under side is flat; it has one dorsal fin, two pectoral, two ventral, and one anal. The upper part of the body is of a muddy olive colour, and the under part silvery. The tail is bifurcated, the upper part being much longer than the under. Sturgeons subsist principally on insects and marine plants, which they find at the bottom of the water, where they mostly resort.
The Sturgeon annually ascends our rivers in the summer, particularly those of the Eden and Esk; and when caught, as it sometimes is, in the salmon-nets, it scarcely makes any resistance, but is drawn out of the water apparently lifeless. One of the largest Sturgeons ever caught in our rivers was taken in the Esk a good many years ago: it weighed four hundred and sixty pounds. This fish is found in most of the rivers in Europe; it is also common in those of North America, and especially in the lakes and rivers of Northern Asia.
The flesh of the Sturgeon is delicious; and it was so much valued in the time of the Emperor Severus, that it was brought to table by servants with coronets on their heads, and preceded by music. In London, every Sturgeon that is caught in the Thames is presented by the Lord Mayor to the Sovereign. The roe, when preserved with salt and oil, is called caviar, and is a favourite dish with many persons; the best is made in Russia. The flesh is also pickled or salted, and sent all over Europe. So prolific is this fish, that Catesby says the females frequently contain a bushel of spawn each; and Leeuwenhoek found in the roe of one of them no fewer than one hundred and fifty thousand million eggs!