59 



considerable stress at its foundation, and whicli is defined 

 in the Charter as " the introduction of new and curious 

 subjects of the Animal Kingdom/^ but which, as may be 

 gathered from the Annual Reports of the Council and from 

 other Documents, meant not only the temporary introduc- 

 tion of indi^dduals for the purpose of satisfying curiosity 

 about their external characters and structure, but also the 

 permanent domestication of foreign animals which might 

 become of value to man, either for their utility in adding 

 to our food-supplies or for the pleasure they afford by their 

 beauty. 



Abundant illustrations of the vanity of human expecta- 

 tions are afforded by the details of the hopes and disap- 

 pointments recorded in the Reports of the Society relating 

 to this subject. It is mentioned in the Report of the year 

 1832 that " the Armadillo has three times produced young, 

 and hopes are entertained of this animal, so valuable as au 

 article of food, being naturalized in this country." More 

 than fifty years have passed, and British-grown Armadillo 

 has not yet appeared upon the menu-cards of our dinner- 

 tables. At one time the South- American Curassows and 

 Guans were confidently looked upon as future rivals to our 

 barn-door Fowls and Turkeys. Various species of Pheasants 

 and other game-birds from Northern India, collected and 

 imported at great expense, were to add zest and variety to 

 the battue of the English sportsman. The great success 

 which for many years attended the breeding of Giraffes in 

 the Gardens not unnaturally led to the expectation that 

 these beautiful creatures might become denizens of our 

 parks, or at all events a source of continued profit to the 

 Society ; and it is possible that some who are here now 

 may have been present at the feast, for which an Eland was 

 sacrificed, amid loudly-uttered prognostications that the 

 ready acclimatization of these animals would result, if not 

 in superseding, at least in providing a change from our mo- 

 notonous round of mutton, beef, and pork. Unfortunately 

 for these anticipations, no Giraff'e has been born in the 

 Gardens during the last twenty years, and Elands are still 

 far too scarce to be killed for food of man in England. 



It is well that these experiments should have been tried ; 

 it may be well, perhaps, that some of them should be tried 

 again when favourable opportunities occur ; but it is also 

 well that we should recognize the almost insuperable difii- 

 culties that must attend the attempt to introduce a new 



