Altogether  the  sturgeon  is  a  valuable  iish  economically,  and
vast  though  the  numbers  be  of  the  several  species  frequenting
Russian  and  Asiatic  waters,  the  ruthless  extent  to  which  they
are  slaughtered  at  the  spawning  season  must  eventually  tell
its  tale  upon  the  race.  Mr.  Seeley  states,  but  does  not  cite
any  authority,  that  in  the  middle  of  last  century  "  it  was  rare
to  see  a  fish  in  the  Vienna  market  of  less  than  100  Ib.,  and
now  (1886)  only  very  small  ones  are  caught."*

*  The  Fresh-  Water  Fishes  of  Europe,  p.  383.
THE  STURGEON  39

The  sturgeon  requires  an  immense  amount  of  food  to
nourish  his  great  carcase,  and  seeing  what  a  small  mouth  he
has  to  collect  it  withal,  it  behoves  him  to  be  diligent  and
active.  Hence  his  name,  "  the  stirring  one,"  for  he  routs
bravely  with  his  nose  in  gravel,  sand,  and  mud,  his  sensitive
barbules  apprising  him  of  the  presence  of  edible  bodies,  and
his  extensile  lips  enabling  him  to  suck  them  in.  No
vegetarian,  he  lives  chiefly  on  worms,  small  fish,  molluscs,
and  crustaceans.  In  captivity,  as  he  may  sometimes  be  seen
at  the  Brighton  Aquarium,  he  devours  enormous  quantities  of
lug-worms.  Yet  his  boldness  and  voracity  are  of  no  service
to  the  angler.  A  sturgeon  eight  or  nine  feet  long  were
indeed  a  worthy  quarry  to  contend  for,  but  at  present  he
cannot  be  reckoned  among  our  sporting  fishes.
