Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XV.djvu/448

 432 STURGEON harness leather, and the dorsal cord, cut in pieces and dried, is used as food. The sterlet (A. Ruthenw, Linn.), found in the Caspian, and growing to a length of 2 or 3 ft., furnishes a most delicate food and the best caviare. In the Volga it spawns early in May, on rocky bottoms, in water of 54 F. ; the eggs, which are easily fecundated artificially, soon adhere to any object ; they are hatched in about seven days, the embryos being then about a quarter of an inch long; in ten weeks these attain a length of two inches, feeding on larvae of in- sects on the bottom. Both eggs and young will safely bear a journey of five days, and have been carried to W. Russia, and even to stock British rivers; the young live only in fresh water. The color in these species is brown of various shades, the plates whitish, and the abdomen silvery. The several species in the Baltic hybridize freely, and are probaby only varieties of one. In North America sturgeons are not found north of the watersheds between lat. 53 and 54 N., where the mean annual temperature is about 33 F. ; they seldom enter clear cold streams, but ascend muddy rivers in such numbers that many large Indian tribes subsist entirely on their flesh in summer ; each watershed has its own species, varying in some minor characteristics. The sharp-nosed sturgeon {A. oxyrhynchus, Mitch.) attains a Sharp-nosed Sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrhynchus). length of from 3 to 7 ft. ; it is found on the coasts of New England, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia; it is common in Long Island sound from the middle of June to October, and is taken by harpoon and in nets; the smaller specimens are esteemed for the table ; it is grayish brown above, silvery on the sides, and white below. The short-nosed sturgeon (A. brevirostris, Mitch.) is dusky above and white below ; the snout is short and blunt ; it attains a length of 2 to 5 ft., and is so com- mon in the Hudson that its flesh in the market has been known as Albany beef ; it much re- sembles the A. sturio of Europe. Other spe- cies are described from the northern waters, the rivers of the N. W. coast, and from Lake Superior, by Richardson and Agassiz. The genus polyodon (Lacep.) or spatularia (Shaw) has the general form of acipenser, but is with- out the bony plates on the body and head; the snout is very much elongated, and com- pressed into a thin leaf -like organ, partly bony and partly cutaneous, sometimes nearly as long as the body ; gill covers very large, extending far back in a membranous point; the mouth is wide, with numerous minute teeth in the young animal, which are lost with age. The spoon-bill sturgeon (P. folium, Lace" p.) is steel- blue above and white below ; it attains a length STUTTGART of 5 ft., and is found in the Mississippi, Ohio, and their tributaries; it is also called shovel fish and paddle fish ; the flesh is tough ; the singularly shaped snout is used to shovel up the mud in search of food. The genus plati- rostra (Les.) is probably only the adult of polyodon, the principal difference being the absence of teeth. STURLESON. See SNORRI STURLASON. STIRT, Sir Charles, an English explorer, died in Cheltenham, June 16, 1869. He entered the army at an early age, and in 1825 (being then a captain) was stationed at Sydney, New South Wales. At this time the interior of Australia was almost entirely unknown; and in 1828 Gen. Darling organized an exploring expedi- tion. Oxley ten years before had been stopped by the great swamps W. of the Blue moun- tains, and this expedition was to penetrate be- yond them as far inland as possible. Sturt was attached to the party, and soon took the vir- tual lead of it. He discovered the Macquarie, Castlereagh, and Darling rivers, and explored a great portion of their valleys. Later he led another expedition, explored the course of the Murrumbidgee, discovered (June 14, 1830) the great Murray river, followed it to Lake Alex- andrina, and returned at the beginning of 1831. The account of these journeys was published in London in 1833, under the title of " Two Expeditions into the Interior of South Aus- tralia during the years 1828-'31." His health, and especially his eyesight, had suffered great- ly; and he was compelled to rest for several years before undertaking his next expedition, which was overland from Sydney to Adelaide. At Adelaide he was made surveyor general of South Australia. In 1844 he undertook a fourth journey, and, after the greatest hard- ships in the Stony Desert, reached a point near the centre of the continent. This expedition he described in a report published in London in 1849. After his return he became registrar general and later colonial secretary of South Australia ; but the injury to his eyes resulted in total blindness, and he returned to England. He was knighted a few days before his death. STCTSMAN, an E. central county of Dakota, recently formed and not included in the cen- sus of 1870; area, about 2,100 sq. m. It is drained by the head waters of the Dakota or James river. The W. part is occupied by the Plateau du Coteau du Missouri. The North- ern Pacific railroad traverses it from E. to W. The surface is rolling. STITTERING. See STAMMERING. STUTTGART, a city of Germany, capital of the kingdom of Wiirtemberg, 2 m. S. "W". of Canstatt on the Neckar, and 97 m. S. E. of Frankfort; pop. in 1876, over 107,000, including 9,000 in several villages. It stands in a very beautiful valley surrounded by vine-clad hills, with wooded mountains in the distance. The town is generally well built, and is divided by the long Konigsstrasse, the principal street, extending nearly N. and S, throughout its en-