Chapter IX: Part 9

Text size

"Buckland River, January 29th, 1854. The diggers here are a very quiet and civil race, at the same time that they are a most active and laborious one. . . . The principal part of the diggers here are from the Ovens."

1864. J. Rogers, `New Rush,' pt. ii. p. 31:

"Drink success to the digger's trade, And break up to the squatter's."

1896. H. Lawson, `While the Billy boils,' p. 148:

"His Father's Mate had always been a general favourite with the diggers and fossickers, from the days when he used to slip out first thing in the morning and take a run across the frosty flat in his shirt."

<hw>Digger's Delight</hw>, n. a flower, Veronica perfoliata, R. Br., N.O. Scrophularaneae, described in quotations.

1878. W. R. Guilfoyle, `First Book of Australian Botany,' p. 64:

"Digger's Delight, Veronica perfoliata, N.O. Scrophularineae. A pretty, blue-flowering shrub, with smooth stem-clasping leaves; found in the mountainous districts of Victoria and New South Wales, and deriving its common name from a supposition that its presence indicated auriferous country. It is plentiful in the elevated cold regions of Australia."

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 147:

"Such native flowers as the wild violet, the shepherd's purse, or the blue-flowered `digger's delight.' This latter has come, perhaps, with the seeds from some miner's holding amongst the iron-barks in the gold country, and was once supposed to grow only on auriferous soils. When no one would think of digging for gold in this field, the presence of the flower is, perhaps, as reliable an indication of a golconda underneath as the reports and information on the strength of which many mining companies are floated."

<hw>Diggerdom</hw>, n. collective noun, the diggers.

1855. W. Howitt, `Two Years in Victoria,' vol. i. p. 43:

"Diggerdom is gloriously in the ascendant here."

<hw>Diggeress</hw>, n. a digger's wife.

1855. W. Howitt, `Two Years in Victoria,' vol. i. p. 43:

"The digger marching off, followed by his diggeress, a tall, slim young woman, who strode on like a trooper. . . . Open carriages driving about, crowded with diggers and their diggeresses."

1864. J. Rogers, `New Rush,' pt. ii. p. 36:

"I'm tir'd of being a diggeress, And yearn a farmer's home to grace."

<hw>Diggings</hw>, n. a place where gold-mining is carried on. The word is generally regarded as singular. Though common in Australia, it is very old, even in the sense of a place where digging for gold is carried on.

1769. De Foe's `Tour of Great Britain,' i. 39 (`O.E.D.'):

"King Henry VIII. was induced to dig for Gold. He was disappointed, but the Diggings are visible at this Day."

1852. J. Morgan, `Life and Adventures of William Buckley' (published at Hobart), p. 183 [quoting from the `Victoria Commercial Review,' published at Melbourne, by Messrs. Westgarth, Ross, & Co., under date September 1, 1851]:

"The existence of a `goldfield' was not ascertained until May last. . . . Numbers of persons are daily `prospecting' throughout this Colony and New South Wales in search of gold. . . .In Victoria, as well as in New South Wales, regular `diggings' are now established."

1852. Murray, `The Australian Gold Diggings: where they are and how to get at them,' p. 1;

"It cannot but be acceptable to the crowds of intending colonists and gold seekers, to present them with a picture of the `Progress of the Diggins,' [sic] drawn by the diggers."

1858. T. McCombie, `History of Victoria,' c. xv. p. 234:

"Immigrants who had not means to start to the diggings."

1870. J. O. Tucker, `The Mute,' p. 48:

"Ye glorious diggings `neath a southern clime! I saw thy dawn."

[`Ye,' `thy.' Is this singular or plural?]

1887. H. H. Hayter, `Christmas Adventure,' p. i:

"Fryer's creek, a diggings more than 90 miles from Melbourne."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. vii. p. 71:

"It was a goldfield and a diggings in far-away Australia."

<hw>Dilli</hw>, later <hw>Dilly-bag</hw>, n. an aboriginal word, coming from Queensland, for a bag made either of grasses or of fur twisted into cord. Dhilla is the term for hair in Kabi dialect, Mary River, Queensland. Dirrang and jirra are corresponding words in the east of New South Wales. The aboriginal word dilli has been tautologically increased to dilly-bag, and the word is used by bushmen for a little bag for odds-and-ends, even though made of calico or holland.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 90:

"In their `dillis' (small baskets) were several roots or tubers."

Ibid. p. 195:

"A basket (dilli) which I examined was made of a species of grass."

1885. R. M. Praed, `Australian Life,' p. 34:

"I learned too at the camp to plait dilly-bags."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. xvii. p. 210:

"Mayboy came forward dangling a small dilly-bag."

1896. A.J. North, `Report of Australian Museum,' p. 26:

"Dilly-bag (partly wool and partly grass)."

<hw>Dingle-bird</hw>, n. a poetical name for the Australian Bell-bird (q.v.).

1870. F. S. Wilson, `Australian Songs,' p. 30:

"The bell-like chimings of the distant dingle-bird."

1883. C. Harpur, `Poems,' p. 78:

"I . . . list the tinkling of the dinglebird."

<hw>Dingo</hw>, n. the native dog of Australia, Canis dingo. "The aborigines, before they obtained dogs from Europeans, kept the dingo for hunting, as is still done by coast tribes in Queensland. Name probably not used further south than Shoalhaven, where the wild dog is called Mirigang." (A. W. Howitt.)

1790. J. White, `Voyage to New South Wales,' p. 280:

[A dingo or dog of New South Wales. Plate. Description by J. Hunter.] "It is capable of barking, although not so readily as the European dogs; is very ill-natured and vicious, and snarls, howls, and moans, like dogs in common. Whether this is the only dog in New South Wales, and whether they have it in a wild state, is not mentioned; but I should be inclined to believe they had no other; in which case it will constitute the wolf of that country; and that which is domesticated is only the wild dog tamed, without having yet produced a variety, as in some parts of America."

1798. D. Collins, `Account of English Colony in New South Wales,' p. 614 [Vocab.]:

"Jungo---Beasts, common name. Tein-go---Din-go. Wor-re-gal---Dog."

1820. W. C. Wentworth, `Description of New South Wales,' p. 62:

"The native dog also, which is a species of the wolf, was proved to be fully equal in this respect [sport] to the fox; but as the pack was not sufficiently numerous to kill these animals at once, they always suffered so severely from their bite that at last the members of the hunt were shy in allowing the dogs to follow them."

1834. L. E. Threlkeld, `Australian Grammar,' p. 55:

"Tigko---a bitch."

1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes `(1855), p. 153:

"I have heard that the dingo, warragal or native dog, does not hunt in packs like the wolf and jackal."

1860. William Story, `Victorian Government Prize Essays,' p. 101:

"The English hart is so greatly superior, as an animal of chase, to that cunning poultry thief the fox, that I trust Mister Reynard will never be allowed to become an Australian immigrant, and that when the last of the dingoes shall have shared the fate of the last English wolf, Australian Nimrods will resuscitate, at the antipodes of England, the sterling old national sport of hart hunting, conjointly with that of African boks, gazelles, and antelopes, and leave the fox to their English cousins, who cannot have Australian choice."

1872. C. H. Eden, `My Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 103:

"In the neighbourhood of Brisbane and other large towns where they have packs, they run the dingoes as you do foxes at home."

1880. Garnet Walch, `Victoria in 1880,' p. 113:

"The arms of the Wimmera should be rabbit and dingo, `rampant,' supporting a sun, `or, inflamed.'"

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 71:

"Dingoes, the Australian name for the wild dogs so destructive to sheep. They were . . . neither more nor less than wolves, but more cowardly and not so ferocious, seldom going in large packs. They hunted kangaroos when in numbers, or driven to it by hunger; but usually preferred smaller and more easily obtained prey, as rats, bandicoots, and 'possums."

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 38:

"On the large stations a man is kept whose sole work it is to lay out poison for the dingo. The black variety with white breast generally appears in Western Queensland along with the red."

1891. `Guide to Zoological Gardens, Melbourne':

"The dingo of northern Australia can be distinguished from his brother of the south by his somewhat smaller size and courageous bearing. He always carries his tail curled over his back, and is ever ready to attack any one or anything; whilst the southern dingo carries his tail low, slinks along like a fox, and is easily frightened. The pure dingo, which is now exceedingly rare in a wild state, partly through the agency of poison, but still more from the admixture of foreign breeds, is unable to bark, and can only express its feelings in long-drawn weird howls."

1894. `The Argus,' June 23, p. l1, col. 4:

"Why is the first call of a dingo always apparently miles away, and the answer to it--another quavering note slightly more shrill--so close at hand? Is it delusion or distance?"

<hw>Dinornis</hw>, n. the scientific name given by Professor Owen to the genus of huge struthious birds of the post-Pliocene period, in New Zealand, which survive in the traditions of the Maoris under the name of Moa (q.v.). From the Greek deinos, terrible, and 'ornis, bird.

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. Intro. p. xviii:

"The specimens [fossil-bones] transmitted . . . were confided to the learned Professor [Owen] for determination; and these materials, scanty as they were, enabled him to define the generic characters of Dinornis, as afforded by the bones of the hind extremity."

Ibid. p. xxiv:

"Professor Owen had well-nigh exhausted the vocabulary of terms expressive of largeness by naming his successive discoveries ingens, giganteus, crassus, robustus, and elephantopus, when he had to employ the superlative Dinornis maximus to distinguish a species far exceeding in stature even the stately Dinornis giganteus. In this colossal bird . . . some of the cervical vertebrae almost equal in size the neck-bones of a horse! The skeleton in the British Museum . . . measures 11 feet in height, and . . . some of these feathered giants attained to a still greater stature."

<hw>Dipper</hw>, n. a vessel with a handle at the top of the side like a big tin mug. That with which one dips. The word is not Australian, but is of long standing in the United States, where it is used as a name for the constellation of the Great Bear.

1893. `Australasian Schoolmaster,' Feb.:

"These answers have not the true colonial ring of the following, which purports to be the remark of the woman of Samaria: `Sir, the well is very deep, and you haven't got a dipper.'"

<hw>Dips</hw>, n. Explained in quotation.

1859. G. Bunce, `Travels with Leichhardt,' p. 161:

". . . Dr. Leichhardt gave the party a quantity of dough boys, or as we called them, dips. . ."

[p. 171]: "In this dilemma, Dr. Leichhardt ordered the cook to mix up a lot of flour, and treated us all to a feed of dips. These were made as follows:--a quantity of flour was mixed up with water, and stirred with a spoon to a certain consistency, and dropped into a pot of boiling water, a spoonful at a time. Five minutes boiling was sufficient, when they were eaten with the water in which they were boiled."

<hw>Dirt</hw>, n. In Australia, any alluvial deposit in which gold is found; properly Wash-dirt. The word is used in the United States. See quotation, 187.

1853. Mrs. Chas. Clancy, `Lady's Visit to the Gold Diggings,' p. 109:

"And after doing this several times, the `dirt,' of course, gradually diminishing, I was overjoyed to see a few bright specks."

1857. Borthwick, `California,' [Bartlett, quoted in `O.E.D.'] p. 120:

"In California, `dirt' is the universal word to signify the substance dug; earth, clay, gravel, or loose slate. The miners talk of rich dirt and poor dirt, and of stripping off so many feet of `top dirt' before getting to `pay-dirt,' the latter meaning dirt with so much gold in it that it will pay to dig it up and wash it."

1870. J. O. Tucker, `The Mute,'p. 40:

"Others to these the precious dirt convey, Linger a moment till the panning's through."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. xiv. p. 142:

"We were clean worked out . . . before many of our neighbours at Greenstone Gully, were half done with their dirt."

Ibid. c. xviii. p. 177:

"We must trust in the Oxley `dirt' and a kind Providence."

<hw>Dish</hw>, n. and adj. a small and rough vessel in which gold is washed. The word is used in the United States.

1890. `Goldfields of Victoria,' p. 17:

"I have obtained good dish prospects after crudely crushing up the quartz."

<hw>Dishwasher</hw>, n. an old English bird-name for the Water-Wagtail; applied in Australia to Seisura inquieta, Lath., the Restless Fly-catcher (q.v.). Seisura is from Grk. seiein (to shake), and 'oura (a tail), being thus equal in meaning to Wagtail. Also called Dishlick, Grinder, and Razor-grinder (q.v.).

1827. Vigors and Horsfield, `Transactions of the Linnaean Society,' vol. xv. p. 250:

"This bird is called by the colonists Dishwasher. It is very curious in its actions. In alighting on the stump of a tree it makes several semi-circular motions, spreading out its tail, and making a loud noise somewhat like that caused by a razor-grinder when at work."

<hw>Distoechurus</hw>, n. the scientific name of the genus of the New Guinea Pentailed-Phalanger, or so-called Opossum-mouse (q.v.). It has a tail with the long hairs arranged in two opposite rows, like the vanes of a feather.(Grk. distoichos, with two rows, and 'oura, a tail.)

<hw>Diver</hw>, n. common bird-name used in Australia for a species of Grebe.

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. vii. pl. 80:

"Podiceps australis, Gould; Australian Tippet Grebe; Diver of the Colonists."

<hw>Doctor</hw>, n. word used in the South Australian bush for "the cook."

1896. `The Australasian,' June 13, p. 1133, col. 1:

"`The doctor's in the kitchen, and the boss is in the shed;
The overseer's out mustering on the plain;
Sling your bluey down, old boy, for the clouds are overhead,
You are welcome to a shelter from the rain.'"

<hw>Dodder Laurel</hw>, n. i.q. Devil's Guts (q.v.).

<hw>Dog-fish</hw>, n. The name belongs to various fishes of distinct families, chiefly sharks. In Australia, it is used for the fish Scyllium lima, family Scylliidae. In New South Wales it is Scyllium maculatum, Bl. The Sprite Dog-fish of New Zealand is Acanthias maculatus, family Spinacidae. The Spotted Dog-fish of New South Wales is Scyllium anale. The Dusky Dogfish of New South Wales is Chiloscyllium modestum, Gunth., and there are others in Tasmania and Australia.

<hw>Dogleg</hw>, adj. applied to a primitive kind of fence made of rough timber. Crossed spars, which are the doglegs, placed at intervals, keep in place a low rail resting on short posts, and are themselves fixed by heavy saplings resting in the forks above.

1875. R. and F. Hill, `What we saw in Australia,' p. 61:

". . . we made acquaintance with the `dog's leg' fence. This is formed of bare branches of the gum-tree laid obliquely, several side by side, and the ends overlapping, so that they have somewhat the appearance that might be presented by the stretched-out legs of a crowd of dogs running at full speed. An upright stick at intervals, with a fork at the top, on which some of the cross-branches rest, adds strength to the structure."

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 13:

"While the primaeval `dog-leg' fence of the Victorian bush, or the latter-day `chock and log' are no impediments in the path of our foresters." [sc. kangaroos; see Forester.]

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, `Robbery under Arms,' p. 71:

"As we rode up we could see a gunyah made out of boughs, and a longish wing of dog leg fence, made light but well put together."

<hw>Dog's Tongue</hw>, n. name given to the plant Cynoglossum suaveolens, R. Br., N.O. Asperifoliae.

<hw>Dogwood</hw>, n. various trees and their wood; none of them the same as those called dogwood in the Northern Hemisphere, but their woods are used for similar purposes, e.g. butchers' skewers, fine pegs, and small pointed wooden instruments. In Australia generally, Jacksonia scoparia, R. Br., also Myoporum platycarpum, R. Br. In Tasmania, Bedfordia salicina, De C., N.O. Compositae, which is also called Honeywood, and in New South Wales, Cottonwood (q.v.), and the two trees Pomaderris elliptica, Lab., and P. apetala, Lab., N.O. Rhamnaceae, which are called respectively Yellow and Bastard Dogwood. See also Coranderrk. In parts of Tasmania, Pomaderris apetala, Lab., N.O. Rhamn/ac?/eae, is also called Dogwood, or Bastard Dogwood.

1836. Ross, `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 16:

"There is a secluded hollow of this kind near Kangaroo Bottom, near Hobart Town, where the common dogwood of the colony (pomaderris apetala) has sprung up so thick and tall, that Mr. Babington and myself having got into it unawares one day, had the greatest difficulty imaginable to get out after three or four hours' labour. Not one of the plants was more than six inches apart from the others, while they rose from 6 to 12 yards in height, with leaves at the top which almost wholly excluded the light of the sun."

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 11:

"Iron-bark ridges here and there, with spotted gum, with dogwood (Jacksonia) on a sandy soil." (p. 20): "A second creek, with running water, which from the number of dogwood shrubs (Jacksonia), in the full glory of their golden blossoms, I called `Dogwood Creek.'"

1894. `Melbourne Museum Catalogue--Economic Woods,' p. 46:

"Native dogwood, a hard, pale-brown, well-mottled wood; good for turnery."

<hw>Dogwood Poison-bush</hw>, n. a New South Wales name; the same as Ellangowan Poison-bush (q.v.).

<hw>Dollar</hw>, n. See Holy Dollar.

<hw>Dollar-bird</hw>, n. name given to the Roller (q.v.). See quotations.

1827. Vigors and Horsfield, `Transactions of Linnaean Society,' vol. xv. p. 202:

"The settlers call it dollar-bird, from the silver-like spot on the wing."

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia;' vol. ii. pl. 17:

"Eurystomus Australis, Swains., Australian Roller. Dollar Bird of the Colonists. During flight the white spot in the centre of each wing, then widely expanded, shows very distinctly, and hence the name of Dollar Bird.'"

1851. I. Henderson, `Excursions in New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 183:

"The Dollar-bird derives its name from a round white spot the size of a dollar, on its wing. It is very handsome, and flies in rather a peculiar manner. It is the only bird which I have observed to perform regular migrations; and it is strange that in such a climate any one should do so. But it appears that the dollar-bird does not relish even an Australian winter. It is the harbinger of spring and genial weather."

<hw>Dollar-fish</hw> n. a name often given formerly to the John Dory (q.v.), from the mark on its side. See quotation, 1880. The name Dollar-fish is given on the American coasts to a different fish.

1880. Guenther, `Study of Fishes,' p. 451:

"The fishermen of Roman Catholic countries hold this fish in special respect, as they recognize in a black round spot on its side the mark left by the thumb of St. Peter, when he took the piece of money from its mouth."

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,' p. 62:

"The dory has been long known, and when the currency of the colony was in Mexican coin it was called a `dollar-fish.'"

<hw>Dorca-Kangaroo</hw>, n. See Dorcopsis and Kangaroo.

<hw>Dorcopsis</hw>, n. the scientific name of a genus of little Kangaroos with pretty gazelle-like faces. (Grk. dorkas, a gazelle, and 'opsis, appearance.) They are called Dorca-Kangaroos, and are confined to New Guinea, and form in some respects a connecting link between Macropus and the Tree-Kangaroo (q.v.). There are three species--the Brown Dorca Kangaroo, Dorcopsis muelleri; Grey D., D. luctuosa, Macleay's D., D. macleayi. See Kangaroo (e).

<hw>Dottrel</hw>, n. formerly Dotterel, common English bird-name, applied in Australia to Charadrius australis, Gould.

Black-fronted Dottrel-- Charadrius nigrifrons, Temm.

Double-banded D.-- C. bicincta, Jord. and Selb.

Hooded D.-- C. monacha, Geoff.

Large Sand D.-- C. (AEgialitis) geoffroyi, Wag.

Mongolian Sand D.-- C. (AEgialitis) mongolica, Pallas.

Oriental D.-- C. veredus, Gould.

Red-capped Dottrel-- Charadrius ruficapilla, Temm.; called also Sand-lark.

Red-necked D.-- C. (AEgialitis) mastersi, Ramsay.

Ringed D.-- C. hiaticula, Linn. [See also Red-knee.]

<hw>Dove</hw>, n. a well-known English bird-name, applied in Australia to the--

Barred-shouldered Dove-- Geopelia humeralis, Temm.

Ground D.-- G. tranquilla, Gould.

Little D.-- G. cuneata, Lath. [See also Ground-dove.]

<hw>Dove-Petrel</hw>, n. a well-known English bird-name. The species in the-Southern Seas are--

Prion turtur, Smith.

Banks D.-P.-- P. banksii, Smith.

Broad-billed D.-P.-- P. vittata, Forst.

Fairy D.-P.-- P. ariel, Gould.

<hw>Dover</hw>, n. a clasp knife, by a maker of that name, once much used in the colonies.

1878. `The Australian,' vol. i. p. 418:

"In plates and knives scant is the shepherd's store, `Dover' and pan are all, he wants no more."

1893. April 15, `A Traveller's Note':

"`So much a week and the use of my Dover' men used to say in making a contract of labour."

1894. `Bush Song' [Extract]:

"Tie up the dog beside the log, And come and flash your Dover."

<hw>Down</hw>, n. a prejudice against, hostility to; a peculiarly Australian noun made out of the adverb.

1856. W. W. Dobie, `Recollections of a Visit to Port Philip,' p. 84:

". . . the bushranger had been in search of another squatter, on whom `he said he had a down'. . ."

1884. J. W. Bull, `Early Life in South Australia,' p. 179:

"It was explained that Foley had a private `down' on them, as having stolen from him a favourite kangaroo dog."

1889. Cassell's `Picturesque Australasia, vol. iv. p. 180:

"They [diggers] had a `dead down' on all made dishes."

1893. Professor Gosman, `The Argus,' April 24, p. 7, col. 4:

"That old prejudice in the minds of many men to the effect that those who represented the churches or religious people had a regular down upon freedom of thought."

1893. `The Age,' June 24, p. 5, col. 1:

"Mr. M. said it was notorious in the department that one of the commissioners had had `a down' on him."

1893. R. L. Stevenson, `Island Nights' Entertainments,' p. 46:

"`They have a down on you,' says Case. `Taboo a man because they have a down on him'' I cried. `I never heard the like.'"

<hw>Down</hw>, adv. "To come, or be down," is the phrase used in Australian Universities for to be "plucked," or "ploughed," or "spun," i.e., to fail in an examination. It has been in use for a few years, certainly not earlier than 1886. The metaphor is either taken from a fall from a horse, or perhaps from the prize-ring. The use has no connection with being "sent down," or "going down," at Oxford or Cambridge.

<hw>Draft</hw>, v. to separate and sort cattle. An adaptation of the meaning "to select and draw off for particular service," especially used of soldiers.

1884. Rolf Boldrewood, `Melbourne Memories,' c. vi. p. 46:

"I should like to be drafting there again."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `The Squatter's Dream,' p. 2:

"There were those cattle to be drafted that had been brought from the Lost Waterhole."

<hw>Draft</hw>, n. a body of cattle separated from the rest of the herd.

1884. Rolf Boldrewood, `Melbourne Memories,' c. ii. p. 22:

"A draft of out-lying cattle rose and galloped off."

<hw>Drafter</hw>, n. a man engaged in drafting cattle.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. xviii. p. 227:

"They behave better, though all the while keeping the drafters incessantly popping at the fence by truculent charges."

<hw>Drafting-gate</hw>, n. gate used in separating cattle and sheep into different classes or herds.

1890. `The Argus,' Aug. 16, p. 4, col. 7:

"But the tent-flap seemed to go up and down quick as a drafting-gate."

<hw>Drafting-stick</hw>, n. a stick used in drafting cattle.

1884. Rolf Boldrewood, `Melbourne Memories,' c. x. p. 72:

"We . . . armed ourselves with drafting-sticks and resolutely faced it."

<hw>Drafting-yard</hw>, n. a yard for drafting cattle.

1890. `The Argus,' Aug. 16, p. 13, col. 1:

"There were drafting-yards and a tank a hundred yards off, but no garden."

<hw>Dray</hw>, n. an ordinary cart for goods. See quotation, 1872.

1833. C. Sturt, `Southern Australia,' vol. i. Intro. p. xlix:

"They send their produce to the market . . . receiving supplies for home consumption on the return of their drays or carts from thence."

1872. C. H. Eden, "My Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 31:

"A horse dray, as known in Australia, is by no means the enormous thing its name would signify, but simply an ordinary cart on two wheels without springs." [There are also spring-drays.]

1886. H. C. Kendall, `Poems,' p. 41:

"One told by camp fires when the station drays Were housed and hidden, forty years ago."

<hw>Dromicia</hw>, n. the scientific name of the Australian Dormouse Phalangers, or little Opossum- or Flying-Mice, as they are locally called. See Opossum, Opossum-mouse, and Phalanger. They are not really the "Flying"-Mice or Flying-phalanger, as they have only an incipient parachute, but they are nearly related to the Pigmy Petaurists (q.v.) or small Flying-Phalangers. (Grk. dromikos, good at running, or swift.)

<hw>Drongo</hw>, n. This bird-name was "given by Le Vaillant in the form drongeur to a South African bird afterwards known as the Musical Drongo, Dicrurus musicus, then extended to numerous . . . fly-catching, crow-like birds." (`Century.') The name is applied in Australia to Chibia bracteata, Gould, which is called the Spangled Drongo.

1895. W. 0. Legge, `Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science' (Brisbane), p. 448:

"There being but one member of the interesting Asiatic genus Drongo in Australia, it was thought best to characterize it simply as the Drongo without any qualifying term."

<hw>Drop</hw>, n. (Slang.) To "have the drop on" is to forestall, gain advantage over, especially by covering with a revolver.

It is curious that while an American magazine calls this phrase Australian (see quotation), the `Dictionary of Slang'--one editor of which is the distinguished American, Godfrey C. Leland--says it is American. It is in common use in Australia.

1894. `Atlantic Monthly,' Aug., p. 179.

"His terrible wife, if we may borrow a phrase from Australia, `had the drop on him' in every particular."

<hw>Drooping Acacia</hw>, n. See Acacia.

<hw>Drove</hw>, v. to drive travelling cattle or sheep.

1890. A. J. Vogan, `Black Police,' p. 334:

"I don't know how you'd be able to get on without the `boys' to muster, track, and drove."

1896. A. B. Paterson, `Man from Snowy River' [Poem `In the Droving Days'], p. 95:

"For though lie scarcely a trot can raise, He can take me back to the droving days."

<hw>Drum</hw>, n. a bundle; more usually called a swag (q.v.).

1866. Wm. Starner, `Recollections of a Life of Adventure,' vol. i. p. 304

". . . and `humping his drum' start off for the diggings to seek more gold."

1872. C. H. Eden, `My Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 17:

"They all chaffed us about our swags, or donkeys, or drums, as a bundle of things wrapped in a blanket is indifferently called."

1886. Frank Cowan, `Australia, Charcoal Sketch,' p. 31:

"The Swagman: bed and board upon his back--or, having humped his drum and set out on the wallaby . . ."

<hw>Drummer</hw>, n. a New South Wales name for the fish Girella elevata, Macl., of the same family as the Black-fish (q.v.).

<hw>Dry-blowing</hw>, n. a Western Australian term in gold-mining.

1894. `The Argus,' March 28, p. 5, col. 5:

"When water is not available, as unfortunately is the case at Coolgardie, `dry blowing' is resorted to. This is done by placing the pounded stuff in one dish, and pouring it slowly at a certain height into the other. If there is any wind blowing it will carry away the powdered stuff; if there is no wind the breath will have to be used. It is not a pleasant way of saving gold, but it is a case of Hobson's choice. The unhealthiness of the method is apparent."

<hw>Duboisine</hw>, n. an alkaloid derived from the plant Duboisia myoposides, N.O. Sofanaceae, a native of Queensland and New South Wales. It is used in medicine as an application to the eye for the purpose of causing the pupil to dilate, in the same way as atropine, an alkaloid obtained from the belladonna plant in Europe, has long been employed. Duboisine was discovered and introduced into therapeutics by a Brisbane physician.

<hw>Duck</hw>, n. the well-known English name of the birds of the Anatinae, Fuligulinae, and other series, of which there are about 125 species comprised in about 40 genera. The Australian genera and species are---

Blue-billed Duck-- Erismatura australis, Gould.

Freckled D.-- Stictonetta naevosa, Gould.

Mountain D. (the Shel-drake, q.v.).

Musk D. (q.v.)-- Biziura lobata, Shaw.

Pink-eared D., or Widgeon (q.v.)-- Malacorhynchus membranaceus, Lath.

Plumed Whistling D.-- Dendrocygna eytoni, Gould.

Whistling D.-- D. vagans, Eyton. [Each species of the Dendrocygna called also by sportsmen Tree-duck.]

White-eyed D., or Hard-head (q.v.)-- Nyroca australis, Gould.

Wild D.-- Anas superciliosa, Gmel.

Wood D. (the Maned Goose; see Goose).

The following is a table of the ducks as compiled by Gould nearly fifty years ago.

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. vii:

Plate

Anas superciliosa, Gmel. Australian Wild Duck . . . 9

Anas naevosa, Gould, Freckled Duck . . . 10

Anas punctata, Cuv. Chestnut-breasted Duck . . . 11

Spatula Rhyncotis, Australian Shoveller . . . 12

Malacorhynchus membranaceus, . . . 13 Membranaceous Duck

Dendrocygna arcuata, Whistling Duck (q.v.) . . . 14

Leptolarsis Eytoni, Gould, Eyton's Duck . . . 15

Nyroca Australis, Gould, White-eyed Duck . . . 16

Erismatura Australis, Blue-billed Duck . . . 17

Biziura lobata, Musk Duck . . . 18

The following is Professor Parker's statement of the New Zealand Ducks.

1889. Prof. Parker, `Catalogue of New Zealand Exhibition,' p. 117:

"There are eleven species of Native Ducks belonging to nine genera, all found elsewhere, except two--the little Flightless Duck of the Auckland Islands (genus Nesonetta) and the Blue Mountain Duck (Hymenolaemus). Among the most interesting of the non-endemic forms, are the Paradise Duck or Sheldrake (Casarca variegata), the Brown Duck (Anas chlorotis), the Shoveller or Spoonbill Duck (Rhynchaspis variegata), and the Scaup or Black Teal (Fuligula Novae-Zealandiae)."

<hw>Duckbill</hw>, n. See Platypus. Sometimes also called Duckmole.

<hw>Duckmole</hw>, n. See Platypus.

1825. Barron Field, `First Fruits of Australian Poetry,' in `Geographical Memoirs of New South Wales,' p. 496:

"When sooty swans are once more rare, And duck-moles the museum's care."

[Appendix : "Water or duck-mole."]

1875. Schmidt, `Descent and Darwinism,' p. 237:

"The Ornithorhyncus or duck-mole of Tasmania."

<hw>Duck-shoving</hw>, and <hw>Duckshover</hw>, n. a cabman's phrase.

In Melbourne, before the days of trams, the wagonette-cabs used to run by a time-table from fixed stations at so much (generally 3d.) a passenger. A cabman who did not wait his turn on the station rank, but touted for passengers up and down the street in the neighbourhood of the rank, was termed a Duck-shover.

1870. D. Blair, `Notes and Queries,' Aug. 6, p. 111:

"Duck-shoving is the term used by our Melbourne cabmen to express the unprofessional trick of breaking the rank, in order to push past the cabman on the stand for the purpose of picking up a stray passenger or so."

1896. `Otago Daily Times,' Jan. 25, p. 3, col. 6:

"The case was one of a series of cases of what was technically known as `duck shoving,' a process of getting passengers which operated unfairly against the cabmen who stayed on the licensed stand and obeyed the by-law."

<hw>Dudu</hw>, n. aboriginal name for a pigeon, fat-breasted, and very good eating.

1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes' (3rd ed. 1855), c. vii. p. 170:

"In the grassland, a sort of ground pigeon, called the dudu, a very handsome little bird, got up and went off like a partridge, strong and swift, re-alighting on the ground, and returning to cover."

<hw>Duff</hw>, v. to steal cattle by altering the brands.

1869. E. Carton Booth, `Another England,' p. 138:

"He said there was a `duffing paddock' somewhere on the Broken River, into which nobody but the owner had ever found an entrance, and out of which no cattle had ever found their way--at any rate, not to come into their owner's possession. . . . The man who owned the `duffing paddock' was said to have a knack of altering cattle brands . . ."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Squatter's Dream,' c. xiv. p. 162:

"I knew Redcap when he'd think more of duffing a red heifer than all the money in the country."

1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `A Sydneyside Saxon,' p. 95:

"As to the calves I'm a few short myself, as I think that half-caste chap of yours must have `duffed.'"

<hw>Duffer</hw>, n. a cattle stealer, i.q. Cattle-duffer (q.v.).

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. xxv. p. 352:

"What's a little money . . . if your children grow up duffers and planters?"

<hw>Duffer</hw>2, n. a claim on a mine which turns out unproductive, called also shicer (q.v.). [This is only a special application of the slang English, duffer, an incapable person, or a failure. Old English Daffe, a fool]

1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 193:

"It was a terrible duffer anyhow, every ounce of gold got from it cost L 20 I'll swear."

1864. J Rogers, `New Rush,' p. 55:

"Tho' duffers are so common And golden gutters rare, The mining sons of woman Can much ill fortune bear."

1873. A.Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 291:

"A shaft sunk without any produce from it is a duffer. . . . But of these excavations the majority were duffers. It is the duffering part of the business which makes it all so sad.So much work is done from which there is positively no return."

1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia,' p. 266:

"The place is then declared to be a `duffer,' and abandoned, except by a few fanatics, who stick there for months and years."

1891. `The Australasian,' Nov. 21, p. 1014:

"Another duffer! Rank as ever was bottomed! Seventy-five feet hard delving and not a colour!"

<hw>Duffer out</hw>, v. A mine is said to duffer out, when it has ceased to be productive.

1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia,' p. 279:

"He then reported to the shareholders that the lode had `duffered out,' and that it was useless to continue working."

1889. Cassell's `Picturesque Australasia,' vol. iv. p. 73:

"Cloncurry has, to use the mining parlance, duffered out."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. vi. p. 58:

"`So you're duffered out again, Harry,' she said."

<hw>Dugong Oil</hw>, n. an oil obtained in Australia, from Halicore dugong, Gmel., by boiling the superficial fat. A substitute for cod-liver oil. The dugongs are a genus of marine mammals in the order Sirenia. H. dugong inhabits the waters of North and North-east Australia, the southern shores of Asia, and the east coast of Africa. The word is Malay.

<hw>Dug-out</hw>, n. a name imported into New Zealand from America, but the common name for an ordinary Maori canoe.

<hw>Duke Willy</hw>, n. See Whistling Dick.

<hw>Dummy</hw>, n. (1) In Australia, when land was thrown open for selection (q.v.), the squatters who had previously the use of the land suffered. Each squatter exercised his own right of selection. Many a one also induced others to select nominally for themselves, really for the squatter. Such selector was called a dummy. The law then required the selector to swear that he was selecting the land for his own use and benefit. Some of the dummies did not hesitate to commit perjury. Dictionaries give "dummy, adj. fictitious or sham." The Australian noun is an extension of this idea. Webster gives "(drama) one who plays a merely nominal part in any action, sham character." This brings us near to the original dumby, from dumb, which is radically akin to German dumm, stupid.

1866. D. Rogerson, `Poetical Works, p. 23:

"The good selectors got most of the land, The dummies being afraid to stand."

1866. H. Simcox, `Rustic Rambles, p. 21:

"See the dummies and the mediums, Bagmen, swagmen, hastening down."

1872. A. McFarland, `Illawarra and Manaro,' p. 125:

"Since free selection was introduced, a good many of the squatters (they say, in self-defence) have, in turn, availed themselves of it, to secure `the eyes' or water-holes of the country, so far as they could by means of `dummies,' and other blinds."

1879. R. Niven, `Fraser's Magazine,' April, p. 516:

"This was the, in the colony, well-known `dummy' system. Its nature may be explained in a moment. It was simply a swindling transaction between the squatter on the one hand and some wretched fellow on the other, often a labourer in the employment of the squatter, in which the former for a consideration induced the latter to personate the character of a free selector, to acquire from the State, for the purpose of transferring to himself, the land he most coveted out of that thrown open for selection adjoining his own property."

1892. `Scribner's Magazine,' Feb. p. 140:

"By this device the squatter himself, all the members of the family, his servants, shepherds, boundary-riders, station-hands and rabbiters, each registered a section, the dummies duly handing their `selection' over to the original holder for a slight consideration."

(2) Colloquial name for the grip-car of the Melbourne trams. Originally the grip-car was not intended to carry passengers: hence the name.

1893. `The Herald' (Melbourne), p. 5, col. 5:

"Linked to the car proper is what is termed a dummy."

1897. `The Argus,' Jan. 2, p. 7, col. 5:

"But on the tramcar, matters were much worse. The front seat of the dummy was occupied by a young Tasmanian lady and her cousin, and, while one portion of the cart struck her a terrible blow on the body, the shaft pinned her by the neck against the front stanchion of the dummy."

<hw>Dummy</hw>, v. to obtain land in the way above described.

1873. A.Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' c. vi. p. 101:

"Each partner in the run has purchased his ten thousand, and there have been many Mrs. Harrises. The Mrs. Harris system is generally called dummying--putting up a non-existent free-selector--and is illegal. But I believe no one will deny that it has been carried to a great extent."

1896. `The Champion' (Melbourne), Jan. 11:

"The verb `to dummy' and the noun `dummyism' are purely Australian, quotations to illustrate the use of which can be obtained from `Hansard,' the daily papers, and such works as Epps' monograph on the `Land Tenure Systems of Australasia.'"

<hw>Dummyism</hw>, n. obtaining land by misrepresentation. See Dummy, n.

1875. `The Spectator' (Melbourne), June 19, p. 8, col. 2:

"`Larrikinism' was used as a synonym for `blackguardism,' and `dummyism' for perjury."

1876. `The Argus,' Jan. 26, p. 6, col. 6:

"Mr. Bent thought that a stop should be put to all selection and dummyism till a land law was introduced."

1887. J. F. Hogan, `The Irish in Australia, p. 98:

"This baneful and illegal system of land-grabbing is known throughout the colonies by the expressive name of `dummyism,' the persons professing to be genuine selectors, desirous of establishing themselves on the soil, being actually the agents or the `dummies of the adjoining squatters."

<hw>Dump</hw>, n. a small coin formerly used in Australia and Tasmania. Its history is given in the quotations. In England the word formerly meant a heavy leaden counter; hence the expression, "I don't care a dump." See Holy Dollar.

1822. `Hobart Town Gazette,' December 14:

"Government Public Notice.--The Quarter Dollars, or `Dumps,' struck from the centre of the Spanish Dollar, and issued by His Excellency Governor Macquarie, in the year 1813, at One Shilling and Threepence each, will be exchanged for Treasury Bills at Par, or Sterling money."

1823. `Sydney Gazette,' Jan. ['Century']:

"The small colonial coin denominated dumps have all been called in. If the dollar passes current for five shillings the dump lays claim to fifteen pence value still in silver money."

1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 44

"He only solicits the loan of a `dump,' on pretence of treating his sick gin to a cup of tea."

Ibid. p. 225:

"The genuine name of an Australian coin, in value 1s. 3d."

1852. J. West, `History of Tasmania,' vol. ii. p. 141:

"Tattered promissory notes, of small amount and doubtful parentage, fluttered about the colony; dumps, struck out from dollars, were imitated by a coin prepared without requiring much mechanical ingenuity."

1870. T. H. Braim, `New Homes,' c. iii. p. 131:

"The Spanish dollar was much used. A circular piece was struck out of the centre about the size of a shilling, and it was called a `dump.'"

1879. W. J. Barry, `Up and Down,' p. 5:

"The coin current in those days (1829) consisted of ring- dollars and dumps, the dump being the centre of the dollar punched out to represent a smaller currency."

1893. `The Daily News' (London), May 11, p. 4:

"The metallic currency was then [1819-25] chiefly Spanish dollars, at that time and before and afterwards the most widely disseminated coin in the world, and they had the current value of 5s. But there were too few of them, and therefore the centre of them was cut out and circulated under the name of `dumps' at 1s. 3d. each, the remainder of the coin--called by way of a pun, `holy dollars'--still retaining its currency value of 5s."

<hw>Dump</hw>, v. to press closely; applied to wool. Bales are often marked "not to be dumped."

1872. C. H. Eden, `My Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 98:

"The great object of packing so close is to save carriage through the country, for however well you may do it, it is always re-pressed, or `dumped,' as it is called, by hydraulic pressure on its arrival in port, the force being so great as to crush two bales into one."

1875. R. and F. Hill, `What we saw in Australia,' p. 207:

"From the sorting-tables the fleeces are carried to the packing-shed; there, by the help of machinery, they are pressed into sacks, and the sacks are then themselves heavily pressed and bound with iron bands, till they become hard cubes. This process is called `dumping.'"

<hw>Dumplings</hw>, n. i.q. Apple-berry (q.v.).

<hw>Dundathee</hw>, or <hw>Dundathu Pine</hw>, n. the Queensland species (Agathis robusta, Sal.) of the Kauri Pine (q.v.); and see Pine.

<hw>Dungaree-Settler</hw>, n. Now obsolete. See quotation.

1852. Anon, `Settlers and Convicts; or, Recollections of Sixteen Years' Labour in the Australian Backwoods,' p. 11:

"The poor Australian settler (or, according to colonist phraseology, the Dungaree-settler; so called from their frequently clothing themselves, their wives, and children in that blue Indian manufacture of cotton known as Dungaree) sells his wheat crop."

<hw>Dunite</hw>, n. an ore in New Zealand, so called from Dun mountain, near Nelson.

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand,' p. 56:

"Chrome ore. This ore, which is a mixture of chromic iron and alumina, is chiefly associated with magnesian rock, resembling olivine in composition, named Dunite by Dr. Hochstetter."

<hw>Dust</hw>, n. slang for flour.

1893. Dec. 12, `A Traveller's Note':

"A bush cook said to me to-day, we gave each sundowner a pannikin of dust."

<hw>Dwarf-box</hw>, n. Eucalyptus microtheca, F. v. M. See Box. This tree has also many other names. See Maiden's `Useful Native Plants,' p. 495.

1833. C. Sturt, `Southern Australia,' vol. i. c. i. p. 22:

"Dwarf-box and the acacia pendula prevailed along the plains."

<hw>Eagle</hw>, n. There are nine species of the true Eagle, all confined to the genus Haliaetus, such as the Baldheaded Eagle (H. leucocephalus), the national emblem of the United States. (`Century.') In Australia the name is assigned to--

Little Eagle-- Aquila morphnoides, Gould.

Wedge-tailed E. (Eagle-hawk)-- A. audax, Lath.

Whistling E.-- Haliaetus sphenurus, Vieill.

White-bellied Sea E.-- H. leucogaster, Gmel.

White-headed Sea E.-- Haliaster girrenera, Vieill.

<hw>Eaglehawk</hw>, n. an Australian name for the bird Uroaetus, or Aquila audax, Lath. The name was applied to the bird by the early colonists of New South Wales, and has persisted. In `O.E.D.' it is shown that the name was used in Griffith's translation (1829) of Cuvier's `Regne Animal' as a translation of the French aigle-autour, Cuvier's name for a South American bird of prey of the genus Morphnus, called Spizaetus by Vieillot; but it is added that the word never came into English use. See Eagle. There is a town in Victoria called Eaglehawk. The Bendigo cabmen make the name a monosyllable, "Glawk."

1834. L. E. Threlkeld, `Australian Grammar, p. 56:

"The large eaglehawk, which devours young kangaroos, lambs, etc."

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. i. pl. 1:

"Aquila Fucosa, Cuv., [now A. audax, Lath.] Wedge-tailed eagle. Eaglehawk, Colonists of New South Wales."

1863. B. A. Heywood, `Vacation Tour at the Antipodes,' p. 106:

"We knew it was dying, as two large eaglehawks were hovering about over it."

1880. Fison and Howitt, `Kamilaroi and Kurnai,' p. 251:

"The hair of a person is tied on the end of the throwing-stick, together with the feathers of the eagle hawk."

1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia', p. 106:

"Since the destruction of native dogs and eagle-hawks by the squatters, who stocked the country with sheep, the kangaroos have not a single natural enemy left."

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 35:

"On the New South Wales side of the river the eagle-hawk is sometimes so great a pest amongst the lambs that the settlers periodically burn him out by climbing close enough to the nest to put a fire-stick in contact with it."

<hw>Eagle-hawking</hw>, n. bush slang: plucking wool off dead sheep.

<hw>Eagle-Ray</hw>, n. name belonging to any large Ray of the family Myliobatidae; the New Zealand species is Myliobatis nieuhofii.

<hw>Eastralia</hw>, n. recent colloquial name, fashioned on the model of Westralia (q.v.), used in West Australia for the Eastern Colonies. In Adelaide, its application seems confined to New South Wales.

<hw>Ebony</hw>, n. a timber. The name is applied in Australia to two species of Bauhinia, B. carronii, F. v. M., and B. hookeri, F. v. M., N.O. Leguminosae. Both are called Queensland or Mountain Ebony.

<hw>Echidna</hw>, n. a fossorial Monotreme, in general appearance resembling a Porcupine, and often called Spiny Ant-eater or Porcupine, or Porcupine Ant-eater. The body is covered with thick fur from which stiff spines protrude; the muzzle is in the form of a long toothless beak; and the tongue is very long and extensile, and used largely for licking up ants; the feet are short, with strong claws adapted for burrowing. Like the Marsupials, the Echidna is provided with a pouch, but the animal is oviparous, usually laying two eggs at a time, which are carried about in the pouch until the young ones are hatched, when they are fed by a secretion from mammary glands, which do not, however, as in other mammals, open on to a nipple. The five-toed Echidnas (genus Echidna) are found in New Guinea, Australia, and Tasmania, while the three-toed Echidnas (genus Proechidna) are confined to New Guinea. The species are--Common E., Echidna aculeata, Shaw; Bruijn's E., Proechidna bruijni, Peters and Doria; Black-spined E., Proechidna nigro-aculeata, Rothschild. The name is from Grk. 'echidna, an adder or viper, from the shape of the long tongue.

1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' c. ii. p. 29:

"The native porcupine or echidna is not very common."

1843. J.Backhouse, `Narrative of a Visit to the Australian Colonies,' p. 89:

"The Porcupine of this land, Echidna hystrix, is a squat species of ant-eater, with short quills among its hair: it conceals itself in the day time among dead timber in the hilly forests."

1851. `Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' vol. i. p. 178:

"Mr. Milligan mentioned that one of the Aborigines of Tasmania reports having often discovered the nest of the Echidna Setosa, porcupine or ant eater, of the colony; that on several occasions one egg had been found in it, and never more: this egg has always been found to contain a foetus or chick, and is said to be round, considerably less than a tennis ball, and without a shell. The mother is said to sit continuously (for a period not ascertained) in the manner of the common fowl over the eggs; she does not leave the young for a considerable time after having hatched it; at length, detaching it from the small teat, she moves out hurriedly and at long intervals in quest of food, the young one becoming, at each successive return, attached to the nipple. . . The Platypus (Ornithorhyncus paradoxus) is said to lay two eggs, having the same external membranous covering, but of an oblong shape."

1860. G. Bennett,' Gatherings of a Naturalist in Australasia,' p. 147:

"The Porcupine Ant-eater of Australia (Echidna hystrix) (the native Porcupine or Hedgehog of the colonists), and the Ornithorhynchus, to which it is allied in internal organization, form the only two genera of the order Monotremata."

1888. Cassell's' Picturesque Australasia,' vol. ii. p. 230:

"Among the gigantic boulders near the top he may capture the burrowing ant-eating porcupine, though if perchance he place it for a moment in the stoniest ground, it will tax all his strength to drag it from the instantaneous burrow in which it will defiantly embed itself."

1892. A.Sutherland, `Elementary Geography of British Colonies,' p. 273:

"The echidna is an animal about a foot or 18 inches long, covered with spines like a hedgehog. It lives chiefly upon ants. With its bill, which is like a duck's but narrower, it burrows into an ant's-hill, and then with its long, whip-like, sticky tongue, draws the ants into its mouth by hundreds."

1894. R. Lydekker, `Marsupialia and Monotremata,' p. 247:

"In order to enable them to procure with facility their food of ants and their larvae, echidnas are provided with very large glands, discharging into the mouth the viscid secretion which causes the ants to adhere to the long worm-like tongue when thrust into a mass of these insects, after being exposed by the digging powers of the claws of the echidna's limbs. . . . When attacked they roll themselves into a ball similar to the hedgehog."

<hw>Echu</hw>, n. the name of an Australian bird which has not been identified. The word does not occur in the ornithological lists.

1862. H. C. Kendall, `Poems--Evening Hymn,' p. 53:

"The echu's songs are dying with the flute-bird's mellow tone."

1896. `The Australasian,' Jan. 11, p. 73, col. 1:

"`Yeldina' (Rochester) writes--While I was on the Murray, a few days before Christmas last, some miles below Echuca, my attention was attracted to the melancholy note, as of a bird which had lost its mate, calling ee-k-o-o, e-e-koo, which was repeated several times, after which a pause, then ee-koo, ee-ko, coolie, coolie, ee-koo. This happened in the scrub at sunset, and came, I think, from a bird smaller than the Australian minah, and of a greenish yellowish hue, larger, but similar to the members of the feathered tribe known to young city `knights of the catapult' as greenies. It was while returning to camp from fishing that I noticed this bird, which appeared of solitary habits."

"`Crossbolt' (Kew) writes--The echu is probably identical with a handsome little bird whose peculiar cry `e-e-choo' is familiar to many bush ramblers. It is the size of a small wood-swallow; black head, back, wings, and tail more or less blue-black; white throat; neck and breast light to rich brown. The female is much plainer, and would scarcely be recognized as the mate of the former. The melodious `e-e-choo' is usually answered from a distance, whether by the female or a rival I cannot say, and is followed by a prolonged warbling."

<hw>Eel</hw>, n. The kinds present in Australia are--

Common Eel-- Anguilla australis, Richards.

Conger E.-- Conger labiatus, Castin., and Gonorhynchus grayi, Richards.

Green E. (New South Wales)-- Muroena afra, Bl.

Silver E.-- Muroenesox cinereus, Forsk.; also called the Sea-eel (New South Wales). Conger wilsoni, Castln. (Melbourne).

The New Zealand Eels are--

Black Eel-- Anguilla australis, Richards.

Conger E.-- Conger vulgaris, Cuv.

Sand E.-- Gonorynchus grayi, Richards.

Serpent E.-- Ophichthys serpens, Linn.

Silver E.-- Congromuroena habenata, Richards.

Tuna E.-- Anguilla aucklandii, Richards.

The Sand Eel does not belong to the Eel family, and is only called an Eel from its habits.

<hw>Eel-fish</hw>, n. Plotosus tandanus, Mitchell. Called also Catfish (q.v.), and Tandan (q.v.).

1838. T. L. Mitchell, `Three Expeditions,' vol. i. pl. 5, p.. 44 and 95 [Note]:

"Plotosus tandanus, tandan or eel-fish. Tandan is the aboriginal name."

<hw>Egret</hw>, n. an English bird-name. The following species are present in Australia, some being European and others exclusively Australian--

Lesser Egret-- Herodias melanopus, Wagl.

Little E.-- H. garzetta, Linn.

Pied E.-- H. picata, Gould.

Plumed Egret-- H. intermedia, v. Hasselq.

White E.-- H. alba, Linn.

<hw>Elder</hw>, n. See next word.

<hw>Elderberry, Native</hw>, n. The two Australian species of the Elder are Sambucus gaudichaudiana, De C., and S. xanthocarpa, F. v. M., N.O. Caprifoliaceae.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 56:

"Native elderberry. The fruit of these two native elders is fleshy and sweetish, and is used by the aborigines for food."

Previous Next

Comments

Austral EnglishChapter IX: Part 9

0%36 min left in chapter