The Sun.
London, England, 1863-07-02 00:00:00

ACCLIMATIZATION SOCIETY,

The anniversary festival of this society was cele•
brated by a dinner in St. James's-hall last evening
On this occasion the festival was intended "to il.

lustrate, in the first place, some of the special tab
jects of the society, as, for example, the introduc-
tion of the Chinese sheep and the yam, or Dioseorea
I3atatas, and, in the second place, the food of other
countries, which do not usually find their way to
our tables." In the unavoidable absence of the Duke
of Newcastle, president of the society, the chair was
taken by Mr. Herman Merivale, C. 8.; and among
the other gentlemen present were the Marquis of
Conyngham, the Earl of Breadalbane, Lord Rivers,
Sir W Maccarthur, Sir C. Nicholson, Sir C. Scott,
Mr. W. H. Russell, LL.D., Captain Grant, Captain
Speke, Mr. Bernal Osborne, M.P., Sir L. Palk, Sir
E. Smith, Mr. P. Du Chaffin, the Hon. G. Berke-
ley, Mr. E. Wilson, Captain Clarke, Ste. Among
the numerous dishes served up on the occasion were
the white soup of the Chunnel Islands, lucioperca,
grenouilles, or edible hogs, pepperpot, Chinese
lamb, roasted whole, with pilaff and kuscoussoo,
poulet 5. l'emancipation des negres, and ostrich eggs.
Besides the wines ordinarily produced at public
dinners in this country there were various Greek,
Hungarian, Australian, and Californian wines. The
apartment in which the company were assembled
was decorated with the heads, horns, and skins of a
variety of foreign animals; and as if to acclimatise
Englishmen to the atmosphere of far distant re-
pots, the room in which the guests were assembled
was of a tropical temperature. The loyal toasts
were drunk with enthusiasm, and the chairman
explained that the main object of the society
was to increase and vary the useful natural pro-
ducts of the empire, and to spread abroad a
better knowledge of the uses of those which
we possess. The Marquis of Conyngham replied to
the toast of " The House of Lords." Mr. Bernal
Osborne responded to that of "The House of Com-
mons," and in so doing said he was not astonished
at the absence of the Duke of Newcastle. One of
the dishes with which the company had been re-
galed was " the white soup of the Channel Islands.'
It appeared from a statement made on the authority
of the society that this delicious white soup was
made of the conger eel—" a creature so despised
that the starving Irish have refused to add flavour
and nutriment to their potatoes by boiling with
them a salted steak of the conger." He had tasted
this delicious soup on the present occasion ; the
Duke of Newcastle had experienced it at a former
dinner, and he was at no loss to account for the ab-
sence of his Grace. (Much laughter.) They had
ho
4
tasted " hybrid ducks" at this banquet, but L
f.
sight of these birds was no novelty to
members of the House of Commons, or
there were several of the species on the
ey ha
say
d
Treasury bench. (Renewed laughter.) Lb
also seen a Chinese lamb, but he was sorry
to
that there was very little wool, and he had met
which
another disappointment in the ostrich d
eggs
a the Zoo
enuine
he had come there to eat. He ex
to
of e
English article from acclimatised t to his
Gardens, in the Regentli-p ark, bu e
b •