The earliest ascertained use of the word is--_Austral English

1827. Hellyer (in 1832), `Bischoff, Van Diemen's Land,'

p. 177:

"One of the men shot a `more pork.'"

The Bird's note--

1868. Carleton, `Australian Nights,' p. 19:

"The Austral cuckoo spoke

His melancholy note--`Mo-poke.'"

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs and Wattle Bloom,' p. 236:

"Many a still night in the bush I have listened to the weird

metallic call of this strange bird, the mopoke of the natives,

without hearing it give expression to the pork-shop

sentiments."

Podargus--

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. ii. pl. 4:

"Podargus Cuvieri, Vig. and Horsf, More-pork

of the Colonists."

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 33:

"We are lulled to sleep by the melancholy, sleep-inspiring, and

not disagreeable voices of the night bird Podargus--

`More-pork! more-pork!'"

1890. `Victorian Statutes-Game Act, Third Schedule.':

"Podargus or Mopoke. [Close Season.] The whole year."

Vague name of Cuckoo--

1854. G. H. Haydon, `The Australian Emigrant,' p. 110:

"The note of the More-pork, not unlike that of a cuckoo with a

cold."

1857. W. Howitt, `Tallangetta,' vol. i. p. 98:

"The distant monotone of the more-pork--the nocturnal cuckoo

of the Australian wilds."

Incorrect--

1858. W. H. Hall, `Practical Experiences at the Diggings in

Victoria,' p. 22:

"The low, melancholy, but pleasing cry of the Mope-hawk."

1877. William Sharp, `Earth's Voices':

"On yonder gum a mopoke's throat

Out-gurgles laughter grim,

And far within the fern-tree scrub

A lyre-bird sings his hymn."

[This is confusion worse confounded. It would seem as if the

poet confused the Laughing Jackass with the

Mopoke, q.v.]

1878. Mrs. H. Jones, `Long Years in Australia,' p. 145:

"How the mope-hawk is screeching."

Owl--

1846. G. H. Haydon, `Five Years in Australia Felix,' p. 71:

"A bird of the owl species, called by the colonists morepork,

and by the natives whuck-whuck, derives both its names from the

peculiarity of its note. At some distance it reminds one of

the song of the cuckoo; when nearer it sounds hoarse and

discordant."

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

"AEgotheles Novae-Hollandiae, Vig. and Horsf, Owlet

Nightjar; Little Mawepawk, Colonists of Van Diemen's Land."

1852. Mrs. Meredith, `My Home in Tasmania,' vol. ii.

p. 253:

"The Mawpawk, More Pork, or Mope Hawk, is common in most parts

of the colony, and utters its peculiar two-syllable cry at

night very constantly. Its habits are those of the owl, and

its rather hawkish appearance partakes also of the

peculiarities of the goat-sucker tribe. . . . The sound

does not really resemble the words `more pork,' any more than

`cuckoo,' and it is more like the `tu-whoo' of the owl than

either."

1859. D. Bunce, `Australasiatic Reminiscences,' p. 14:

"Just as our sportsman, fresh from the legal precincts of

Gray's Inn Square, was taking a probably deadly aim, the

solitary and melancholy note of `More-pork! more-pork!' from

the Cyclopean, or Australian owl, interfered most opportunely

in warding off the shot."

1864. `Once a Week,' Dec. 31, p. 45. `The Bulla Bulla

Bunyip':

"The locusts were silent, but now and then might be heard

the greedy cry of the `morepork,' chasing the huge night-moths

through the dim dewy air."

1892. A. Sutherland, `Elementary Geography of British

Colonies,' p. 274:

"Owls are also numerous, the Mopoke's note being a familiar

sound in the midnight darkness of the forest."

By transference to a man.--

1845. R. Howitt, `Australia,' p. 233:

"`A more-pork kind of a fellow' is a man of cut-and-dry

phrases, a person remarkable for nothing new in common

conversation. This by some is thought very expressive,

the more-pork being a kind of Australian owl, notorious

for its wearying nightly iteration, `More pork, more pork'"

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. xiii. p. 125:

"What a regular more-pork I was to be sure to go and run my

neck agin' a roping-pole."

<hw>Morepork</hw>, n. (1) The Australian bird, or

birds, described under Mopoke (q.v.).

(2) The New Zealand Owl, formerly Athene

novae-zelandiae, Gray; now Spiloglaux

novae-zelandiae, Kaup.

1849. W. T. Power, `Sketches in New Zealand,' p. 74:

"This bird gave rise to a rather amusing incident in the Hutt

Valley during the time of the fighting. . . . A strong

piquet was turned out regularly about an hour before daybreak.

On one occasion the men had been standing silently under arms

for some time, and shivering in the cold morning air, when they

were startled by a solemn request for `more pork.' The officer

in command of the piquet, who had only very recently arrived in

the country, ordered no talking in the ranks, which was

immediately replied to by another demand, distinctly

enunciated, for `more pork.' So malaprop a remark produced a

titter along the ranks, which roused the irate officer to the

necessity of having his commands obeyed, and he accordingly

threatened to put the next person under arrest who dared make

any allusion to the unclean beast. As if in defiance of the

threat, and in contempt of the constituted authorities, `more

pork' was distinctly demanded in two places at once, and was

succeeded by an irresistible giggle from one end of the line to

the other. There was no putting up with such a breach of

discipline as this, and the officer, in a fury of indignation,

went along the line in search of the mutinous offender, when

suddenly a small chorus of `more pork' was heard on all sides,

and it was explained who the real culprits were."

1866. Lady Barker, `Station Life in New Zealand,' p. 100:

"The last cry of a very pretty little owl, called from its

distinctly uttered words the `more-pork.'"

1884. T. Bracken, `Lays of Maori,' p. 84:

"Sleeping alone where the more-pork's call

At night is heard."

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 192:

"Spiloglaux Novae-Zelandiae, Kaup., More-pork of the

colonists. Every New Zealand colonist is familiar with this

little owl, under the name of `morepork.'"

<hw>Moreton-Bay</hw>, n. the name formerly given to the

district of New South Wales which is now the colony of

Queensland. The Brisbane river (on which is situated Brisbane,

the capital of Queensland) enters it. See below.

<hw>Moreton-Bay Ash</hw>, n. See Ash.

<hw>Moreton-Bay Chestnut</hw>, n. See Bean-tree.

<hw>Moreton-Bay Fig</hw>, n. See Fig.

<hw>Moreton-Bay Laurel</hw>, n. See Laurel.

<hw>Moreton-Bay Pine</hw>, n. See Pine.

<hw>Moriori</hw>, n. a people akin to, but not identical

with, the Maoris. They occupied the Chatham Islands, and were

conquered in 1832 by the Maoris. In 1873, M. Quatrefages

published a monograph, `Moriori et Maori.'

<hw>Morwong</hw>, n. the New South Wales name for the

fish Chilodactylus macropterus, Richards.; also called

the Carp (q.v.) and Jackass-fish, and in New

Zealand by the Maori name of Tarakihi. The Melbourne

fishermen, according to Count Castelnau, call this fish the

Bastard Trumpeter (q.v.), but this name is also applied

to Latris forsteri, Castln. See also Trumpeter

and Paper-fish. The Red Morwong is

Chilodactylus fuscus, Castln., also called Carp

(q.v.). The Banded Morwong is Chilodactylus

vittatus, Garrett.

<hw>Moses, Prickly</hw>, n. a bushman's name for

Mimosa (q.v.).

1887. `The Australian,' April:

"I cannot recommend . . . [for fishing rods] . . . that awful

thing which our philosopher called `prickly moses.'"

<hw>Moulmein Cedar</hw>, n. See Cedar.

<hw>Mound-bird</hw>, n. the jungle-hen of Australia.

The birds scratch up heaps of soil and vegetable matter, in

which they bury their eggs and leave them to be hatched by the

heat of decomposition. Scientifically called Megapodes

(q.v.).

1893. A. R. Wallace, `Australasia,' vol. i. p. 76:

"Next to these, as a special Australian type. . . . come

the bush-turkeys or mound-makers . . . all these birds have

the curious reptilian character of never sitting on their eggs,

which they bury under mounds of earth or decaying vegetable

matter, allowing them to be hatched by the heat of the sun,

or that produced by fermentation."

<hw>Mountain</hw>- (as epithet):

Mountain-Apple-tree--

Angophora lanceolata, Cav., N.O. Myrtaceae.

M.-Ash--

A name applied to various Eucalypts, and to the tree Alphitonia

excelsa, Reiss.

M.-Beech--

The tree Lomatia longifolia, R. Br.,

N.0. Proteaceae.

M.-Bloodwood--

The tree Eucalyptus eximia, Schau.

M.-Cypress-pine--

The tree Frenela parlatori, F. v. M.,

N.0. Coniferae.

M.-Ebony--

See Ebony.

M.-Gentian--

The name is applied to the Tasmanian species, Gentiana

saxosa, Forst., N.O. Gentianeae.

M.-Gums--

See Gum.

M.- Oak--

See Oak.

M.-Parrot--

Another name for the Kea (q.v.).

M.-Rocket--

The name is applied to the Tasmanian species Bellendena

montana, R. Br., N.O. Proteaceae.

M.-Tea-tree--

See Tea-tree.

<hw>Mountain-Devil</hw>, n. name given to the

strange-looking Australian lizard, Moloch horridus,

Gray. See Moloch. Also called Spiny Lizard.

1853. `Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Van

Diemen's Land,' vol. ii. p. 515 [November 9]:

"A spirit preparation of the Spiny Lizard (Moloch

horridus) of Western Australia."

<hw>Mountain Thrush</hw>, n. an Australian thrush,

Oreocincla lunulata, Gould. See Thrush.

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. iv. pl. 7:

"Oreocincla lunulatus, Mountain Thrush, Colonists of Van

Diemen's Land. In all localities suitable to its habits and

mode of life, this species is tolerably abundant, both in Van

Diemen's Land and in New South Wales; it has also been observed

in South Australia, where however it is rare."

<hw>Mountain-Trout</hw>, n. species of Galaxias,

small cylindrical fishes inhabiting the colder rivers of

Australasia, Southern Chili, Magellan Straits, and the Falkland

Islands. On account of the distribution of these fish and of

other forms of animals, it has been suggested that in a remote

geological period the area of land above the level of the sea

in the antarctic regions must have been sufficiently extended

to admit of some kind of continuity across the whole width of

the Pacific between the southern extremities of South America

and Australia.

<hw>Mud-fat</hw>, adj. fat as mud, very fat.

1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `A Sydney-side Saxon,' p. 142:

"There's half this fine body of veal, mud-fat and tender

as a chicken, worth a shilling a pound there."

<hw>Mud-fish</hw>, n. a fish of Westland, New Zealand,

Neochanna apoda, Gunth. Guenther says Neochanna

is a "degraded form of Galaxias [see

Mountain-Trout], from which it differs by the absence

of ventral fins. This fish has hitherto been found only in

burrows, which it excavates 1n clay or consolidated mud, at

a distance from water."

<hw>Mud-lark</hw>, n. another name for the Magpie-lark,

Grallina picata (q.v.).

<hw>Mulberry-bird</hw>, n. name given to the Australian

bird Sphecotheres maxillaris, Lath.; called also

Fig-bird (q.v.).

1891. A. J. North, `Records of the Australian Museum,' vol.

i. no. 6, p. 113:

"Southern Sphecotheres. Mr. Grime informs me it is fairly

common on the Tweed River, where it is locally known as the

`Mulberry-bird,' from the decided preference it evinces for

that species of fruit amongst many others attacked by this

bird."

Mulberry, Native, n. name given to three Australian trees,

viz.--

Hedycarya cunninghami, Tull., N.O. Monimiaceae.

Called also Smooth Holly.

Piturus propinquus, Wedd., N.O. Urticeae. Called

also Queensland Grasscloth Plant.

Litsaea ferruginea, Mart., N.O. Laurineae.

Called also Pigeonberry-tree.

The common English garden fruit-tree is also acclimatised, and

the Victorian Silk Culture Association, assisted by the

Government, are planting many thousands of the White

Mulberry for silk culture.

<hw>Mulga</hw>, n. an aboriginal word. (1) Name given

to various species of Acacia, but especially A. aneura,

F. v. M., N.0. Leguminosae. See also Red Mulga.

1864. J. McDouall Stuart, `Explorations in Australia,'

p. 154:

"We arrived at the foot nearly naked, and got into open sandy

rises and valleys, with mulga and plenty of grass, amongst

which there is some spinifex growing."

1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery

and Exploration of Australia,' vol. ii. p. 126, Note:

"Mulga is an Acacia. It grows in thick bushes, with thin twigs

and small leaves. Probably it is the most extensively

distributed tree in all Australia. It extends right across

the continent."

1888. Baron F. von Mueller, `Select Extra-tropical Plants'

[7th ed.], p. 1:

"Acacia aneura, F. v. M. Arid desert interior of extra-tropic

Australia. A tree never more than 25 feet high. The principal

`Mulga' tree. . . . Cattle and sheep browse on the twigs of

this and some allied species, even in the presence of plentiful

grass, and are much sustained by such acacias in seasons of

protracted drought."

1892. Gilbert Parker, `Round the Compass in Australia,'

p. 43:

"Not a drop of rain! And for many and many a day the jackaroo

will still chop down the limbs of the mulga-tree, that of its

tonic leaves the sheep may eat and live."

1894. `The Argus,' Sept. 1, p. 4, col. 2:

"The dull green of the mulga-scrub at their base."

1896. H. Lawson, `When the World was Wide,' p. 85:

"Flax and tussock and fern,

Gum and mulga and sand,

Reef and palm--but my fancies turn

Ever away from land."

(2) A weapon, made of mulgawood.

(a) A shield.

1878. `Catalogue of Ethnotypical Art in the National Gallery'

(Melbourne), p. 19:

"Mulga. Victoria. Thirty-six inches in length. This

specimen is 37 inches in length and 5 inches in breadth at the

broadest part. The form of a section through the middle is

nearly triangular. The aperture for the hand (cut in the solid

wood) is less than 4 inches in length. Ornamentation

:Herring-bone, the incised lines being filled in with white

clay. Some figures of an irregular form are probably the

distinguishing marks of the owner's tribe. This shield was

obtained from Larne-Gherin in the Western District."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 349:

"Mulga is the name of a long narrow shield of wood,

made by the aboriginals out of acacia-wood."

(b) In one place Sir Thomas Mitchell speaks of it as a club.

1839. T. L. Mitchell, `Three Expeditions,' vol. ii. p. 267:

"The malga [sic] . . . with which these natives were

provided, somewhat resembled a pick-axe with one half broken

off."

<hw>Mulga-Apple</hw>, n. a gall formed on the

Mulga-tree, Acacia aneura, F. v. M. (q.v.). See also

Apple.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 3:

"In Western New South Wales two kinds of galls are found on

these trees. One kind is very astringent, and not used; but

the other is less abundant, larger, succulent and edible.

These latter galls are called `mulga-apples,' and are said to

be very welcome to the thirsty traveller."

1889. E. Giles, `Australia Twice Traversed,' p. 71:

"The mulga bears a small woody fruit called the mulga apple.

It somewhat resembles the taste of apples and is sweet."

<hw>Mulga-down</hw>, n. hills covered with Mulga.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. xvii. p. 201:

"Fascinating territories of limitless mulga-downs."

<hw>Mulga-grass</hw>, n. an Australian grass,

Danthonia penicillata, F. v. M.; also Neurachne

mitchelliana, Nees. See also Grass.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 82:

"Mulga Grass. . . . Peculiar to the back country. It derives

its vernacular name from being only found where the mulga-tree

(Acacia aneura and other species) grows; it is a very

nutritious and much esteemed grass."

<hw>Mulga-scrub</hw>, n. thickets of Mulga-trees.

1864. J. McDouall Stuart, `Explorations in Australia,'

p. 190:

"For the first three miles our course was through a very thick

mulga scrub, with plenty of grass, and occasionally a little

spinifex."

1875. John Forrest, `Explorations in Australia,' p. 220:

"Travelled till after dark through and over spinifex plains,

wooded with acacia and mulga scrub, and camped without water

and only a little scrub for the horses, having travelled

nearly forty miles."

1876. W. Harcus, `South Australia,' p. 127:

"The road for the next thirty miles, to Charlotte Waters

Telegraph Station, is characterized by mulga-scrub, open

plains, sand-hills, and stony rises poorly grassed."

1893. A. R. Wallace, `Australasia,' vol. i. p. 47:

"Still more dreaded by the explorer is the `Mulga' scrub,

consisting chiefly of dwarf acacias. These grow in spreading

irregular bushes armed with strong spines, and where matted

with other shrubs form a mass of vegetation through which it

is impossible to penetrate."

<hw>Mulga-studded</hw>, adj. with Mulga growing here

and there.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. xvii. p. 201:

"The frown on the face of the mulga-studded lowlands deepened."

<hw>Mullet</hw>, n. Various species of this fish are

present in Australasia, all belonging to the family

Mugilidae, or Grey-Mullets. They are the--

Flat-tail Mullet--

Mugil peronii, Cuv. and Val.

Hard-gut M.--

M. dobula, Gunth.

Sand-M., or Talleygalanu--

Myxus elongatus, Gunth. (called also Poddy

in Victoria).

Sea-M.--

M. grandis, Castln.

In New Zealand, the Mullet is Mugil perusii, called

the Silver-Mullet (Maori name, Kanae); and the Sea-Mullet,

Agonostoma forsteri (Maori name, Aua, q.v.);

abundant also in Tasmanian estuaries.

The Sand-Mullet in Tasmania is Mugil cephalotus,

Cuv. and Val. See also Red-Mullet.

1890. `Victorian Statutes--Fisheries Act, Second Schedule':

[Close Season.] "Sand-mullet or poddies."

<hw>Mullock</hw>, n. In English, the word is obsolete;

it was used by Chaucer in the sense of refuse, dirt. In

Australia, it is confined to" `rubbish, dirt, stuff taken out

of a mine--the refuse after the vein-stuff is taken away'

(Brough Smyth's `Glossary')."

1864. J. Rogers, `New Rush,' pt. ii. p. 26:

"A man each windlass-handle working slow,

Raises the mullock from his mate below."

1874. Garnet Walch, `Head over Heels, p. 77:

"But still we worked on--same old tune

For nothin' but mullock come up."

<hw>Mullock over</hw>, v. Shearing slang.

See quotation.

1893. `The Age,' Sept. 23, p. 14, col. 4:

"I affirm as a practical shearer, that no man could shear 321

sheep in eight hours, although I will admit he might do what we

shearers call `mullock over' that number; and what is more, no

manager or overseer who knows his work would allow a shearer to

do that number of sheep or lambs in one day."

<hw>Munyeru</hw>, n. name given to the small black seeds

of Claytonia balonnensis, F. v. M.,

N.O. Portulaceae, which are ground up and mixed with

water so as to form a paste. It forms a staple article of diet

amongst the Arunta and other tribes of Central Australia.

1896. E. C. Stirling, `Horne Expedition in Central

Australia,' Anthropology, p. 56:

"In these districts `Munyeru' takes the place of the spore

cases of `Nardoo' (Marsilea quadrifolia), which is so

much used in the Barcoo and other districts to the south and

east, these being treated in a similar way."

<hw>Murray-Carp</hw>, n. See Carp.

<hw>Murray-Cod</hw>, n. an important fresh-water

food-fish, Oligorus macquariensis, Cuv. and Val., called

Kookoobal by the aborigines of the Murrumbidgee, and

Pundy by those of the Lower Murray. A closely allied

species is called the Murray-Perch. Has been known to

reach a weight of 120 lbs.

1839. T. L. Mitchell, `Three Expeditions into the Interior

of Eastern Australia,' vol. i. p. 95:

"We soon found that this river contained . . . the fish we

first found in the Peel, commonly called by the colonists `the

cod,' although most erroneously, since it has nothing whatever

to do with malacopterygious fishes."

1880. Guenther, `Introduction to Study of Fishes,' p. 392

(`O.E.D.'):

"The first (Oligorus macquariensis) is called by the

colonists `Murray-cod,' being plentiful in the Murray River and

other rivers of South Australia. It attains to a length of

more than 3 feet and to a weight of nearly 100 lbs."

<hw>Murray-Lily</hw>, n. See Lily.

<hw>Murray-Perch</hw>, n. a freshwater fish, Oligorus

mitchelli, Castln., closely allied to Oligorus

macquariensis, the Murray-Cod, belonging to the family

Percidae.

1880. Garnet Walch, `Victoria in 1880,' p. 124:

"Our noble old 1400-mile river, the Murray, well christened

the Nile of Australia, . . . produces `snags,' and that finny

monster, the Murray cod, together with his less bulky, equally

flavourless congener, the Murray perch."

<hw>Murr-nong</hw>, n. a plant. The name used by the

natives in Southern Australia for Microseris forsteri,

Hook., N.O. Compositae.

1878. R. Brough Smyth, `Aborigines of Victoria,' p. 209:

"Murr-nong, or `Mirr-n'yong', a kind of yam (Microseris

Forsteri) was usually very plentiful, and easily found in

the spring and early summer, and was dug out of the earth by

the women and children."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 45:

"Murr-nong, or `Mirr n'yong' of the aboriginals of New South

Wales and Victoria. The tubers were largely used as food by

the aboriginals. They are sweet and milky, and in flavour

resemble the cocoa-nut."

<hw>Murrumbidgee Pine</hw>, n. See Pine.

<hw>Mushroom</hw>, n. The common English mushroom,

Agaricus campestris, Linn., N.O. Fungi, abounds

in Australia, and there are many other indigenous edible

species.

<hw>Musk-Duck</hw>, n. the Australian bird, Biziura

lobata, Shaw. See Duck.

1880. Garnet Walch, `Victoria in 1880,' p. 30:

"The ungainly musk-duck paddles clumsily away from the passing

steamer, but hardly out of gunshot, for he seems to know that

his fishy flesh is not esteemed by man."

1880. Mrs. Meredith, `Tasmanian Friends and Foes,' p. 159:

"That's a musk duck: the plumage is very sombre and loose

looking--not so thick as most other ducks; the tail, too, is

singular, little more than a small fan of short quills. The

head of the male has a kind of black leathery excrescence under

the bill that gives it an odd expression, and the whole bird

has a strange odour of musk, rendering it quite uneatable."

<hw>Musk-Kangaroo</hw>, n. See Hypsiprymnodon

and Kangaroo.

<hw>Musk-Parrakeet</hw>, n. an Australian parrakeet.

See Parrakeet.

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. v. pl. 5:

"Trichoglossus Concinnus, Vig. and Horsf.

(Australis, Wagl.), Musky-Parrakeet;

Musk-Parrakeet, Colonists of New South Wales,

from the peculiar odour of the bird."

<hw>Musk-tree</hw>, n. The name is applied to Marlea

vitiense, Benth., N.O. Cornaceae, with edible nuts,

which is not endemic in Australia, and to two native trees of

the N.O. Compositae--Aster argophyllus, Labill.,

called also Musk-wood, from the scent of the timber;

and Aster viscosus, Labill., called also the Dwarf

Musk-tree.

1848. Letter by Mrs. Perry, given in Canon Goodman's `Church

in Victoria during the Episcopate of Bishop Perry,' p. 71:

"Also there is some pretty underwood, a good deal of the

musk-tree--which is very different from our musk-plant, growing

quite into a shrub and having a leaf like the laurel in shape."

1888. Mrs. M'Cann, `Poetical Works,' p. 143:

"The musk-tree scents the evening air

Far down the leafy vale."

<hw>Musk-wood</hw>, n. See Musk-tree.

<hw>Mussel</hw>, n. Some Australasian species of this

mollusc are--

Mytilus latus, Lamark., Victoria, Tasmania,

and New Zealand;

M. tasmanicus, Tenison Woods, Tasmania;

M. rostratus, Dunker, Tasmania and Victoria;

M. hirsutus, Lamark., Tasmania, South Australia,

Victoria, New Zealand;

M. crassus, Tenison-Woods, Tasmania.

Fresh-water Mussels belong to the genus Unio.

<hw>Mutton-bird</hw>, n. The word is ordinarily applied

to the Antarctic Petrel, AEstrelata lessoni. In

Australasia it is applied to the Puffin or Short-tailed Petrel,

Puffinus brevicaudus, Brandt. The collection of the

eggs of this Petrel, the preparation of oil from it, the

salting of its flesh for food, form the principal means of

subsistence of the inhabitants, half-caste and other, of the

islands in Bass Straits.

1839. W. Mann, `Six Years' Residence in the Australian

Provinces,' p. 51:

"They are commonly called mutton birds, from their

flavour and fatness; they are migratory,and arrive in Bass's

Straits about the commencement of spring, in such numbers that

they darken the air."

1843. J. Backhouse, `Narrative of a Visit to the Australian

Colonies' (1832), p. 73:

"Mutton birds were in such vast flocks, that, at a distance,

they seemed as thick as bees when swarming."

Ibid. p. 91:

"The Mutton-birds, or Sooty Petrels, are about the size of

the Wood Pigeon of England; they are of a dark colour,

and are called `Yola' by the natives."

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. i.

p. 264:

"The principal occupation of these people during this month of

the year is taking the Sooty Petrel, called by the Colonists

the Mutton Bird, from a fancied resemblance to the taste of

that meat."

1846. G. H. Haydon, `Five Years in Australia Felix,'

p. 47:

"The mutton-bird, or sooty petrel . . . is about the size of

the wood-pigeon of England, and is of a dark colour. These

birds are migratory, and are to be seen ranging over the

surface of the great southern ocean far from land . . . Many

millions of these birds are destroyed annually for the sake of

their feathers and the oil of the young, which they are made to

disgorge by pressing the craws."

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 382:

"The titi, or mutton-bird, is a seabird which goes inland at

night just as the light wanes. The natives light a bright

fire, behind which they sit, each armed with a long stick. The

titis, attracted by the light, fly by in great numbers, and are

knocked down as quickly as possible; thus in one night several

hundreds are often killed, which they preserve in their own fat

for future use."

1857. C. Hursthouse, `New Zealand the Britain of the South,'

vol. i. p. 121:

"The young titi (mutton-bird), a species of puffin, is caught

by the natives in great quantities, potted in its own fat, and

sent as a sort of `pa^te de foie gras' to inland friends."

1863. B. A. Heywood, `Vacation Tour at the Antipodes,' p. 232:

"The natives in the South [of Stewart's Island] trade largely

with their brethren in the North, in supplies of the mutton-

bird, which they boil down, and pack in its own fat in the

large air-bags of sea-weed."

1879. H. n. Moselep `Notes by Naturalist on Challenger,

p. 207:

"Besides the prion, there is the `mutton-bird' of the whalers

(AEstrelata lessoni), a large Procellanid, as big as a

pigeon, white and brown and grey in colour."

1880. Garnet Walch, `Victoria in 1880,' p. 49:

"The crest of the Cape [Wollomai] is a favourite haunt of those

elegant but prosaically-named sea-fowl, the `mutton-birds.'. .

One of the sports of the neighbourhood is `mutton-birding.'

1888. A. Reischek, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,'

vol. xxi. art. xlix. p. 378:

"Passing through Foveaux Strait, clothed with romantic little

islands, we disturbed numerous flocks of mutton-birds

(Puffinus tristis), which were playing, feeding, or

sleeping on the water."

1891. `The Australasian,' Nov. 14, p. 963, col. 1 (`A Lady in

the Kermadecs'):

"The mutton-birds and burrowers come to the island in millions

in the breeding season, and the nesting-place of the burrowers

is very like a rabbit-warren; while the mutton-bird is content

with a few twigs to do duty for a nest."

1891. Rev. J. Stack, `Report of Australasian Association for

the Advancement of Science,' vol. iii. p. 379:

"Wild pigeons, koko, tui, wekas, and mutton-birds were cooked

and preserved in their own fat."

<hw>Mutton-bird Tree</hw>, n. a tree, Senecio

rotundifolius, Hook.: so called because the mutton-birds,

especially in Foveaux Straits, New Zealand, are fond of sitting

under it.

<hw>Mutton-fish</hw>, n. a marine univalve mollusc,

Haliotis naevosa, Martyn: so called from its flavour

when cooked. The empty earshell of Haliotis, especially

in New Zealand, Haliotis iris, Martyn, is known as

Venus' Ear; Maori name, Paua (q.v.). A species

of the same genus is known and eaten at the Cape and in the

Channel Islands. (French name Ormer, sc. Oreille

de mer.)

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish and Fisheries of New

South Wales,' p. 92:

"Then mutton fish were speared. This is the ear-shell fish

(Haliotis naevosa), which was eagerly bought by the

Chinese merchants. Only the large muscular sucking disc on

foot is used. Before being packed it is boiled and dried.

About 9d. per lb. was given."

Myall, n. and adj. aboriginal word with two

different meanings; whether there is any connection between

them is uncertain.

(1) n. An acacia tree, Acacia pendula, A. Cunn.,

and its timber. Various species have special epithets:

Bastard, Dalby, True, Weeping, etc.

1845. J. O. Balfour, `Sketch of New South Wales,' p. 38:

"The myall-tree (Acacia pendula) is the most picturesque

tree of New South Wales. The leaves have the appearance of

being frosted, and the branches droop like the weeping

willow. . . . Its perfume is as delightful, and nearly as

strong, as sandal-wood."

(p. 10): "They poison the fish by means of a sheet of bark

stripped from the Myall-tree (Acacia pendula)."

1846. T. L. Mitchell, Report quoted by J. D. Lang,

`Cooksland,' p. 495:

"The myall-tree and salt-bush, Acacia pendula and

salsolae [sic], so essential to a good run, are also

there."

1864. J. S. Moore, `Spring Life Lyrics,' p. 170:

"The guerdon's won! What may it be?

A grave beneath a myall-tree."

1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery

and Exploration of Australia,' vol. i. p. 193 [Note]:

"This acacia, which has much the habit of the weeping willow,

is found very extensively on the wet, alluvial flats of the

west rivers. It sometimes forms scrubs and thickets, which

give a characteristic appearance to the interior of this part

of Australia, so that, once seen, it can never be again

mistaken for scenery of any other country in the world. The

myall scrubs are nearly all of Acacia pendula."

1880. Fison and Howitt, `Kamilaroi and Kurnai,' p. 280:

"The myall-wood weapons made at Liverpool Plains were

exchanged with the coast natives for others."

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 46:

"Lignum-vitae and bastard-myall bushes were very

common."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 115:

"Weeping or true Myall. . . . Stock are very fond of the

leaves of this tree [Acacia pendula], especially in

seasons of drought, and for this reason, and because they eat

down the seedlings, it has almost become exterminated in parts

of the colonies."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Squatter's Dream,' p. 27:

"A strip of the swaying, streaming myall, of a colour more

resembling blue than black."

1890. `The Argus,' June 7, p. 4, col. 2:

"The soft and silvery grace of the myalls."

1890. E. D. Cleland, `The White Kangaroo,' p. 50:

"Miall, a wood having a scent similar to raspberry jam,

and very hard and well-grained."

1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `Sydney-side Saxon,' p. 130:

"Stock-whips with myall handles (the native wood that smells

like violets)."

(2) adj. and n. wild, wild natives, used

especially in Queensland. The explanation given by Lumholtz

(1890) is not generally accepted. The word mail,

or myall, is the aboriginal term for "men," on the Bogan,

Dumaresque, and Macintyre Rivers in New South Wales. It is the

local equivalent of the more common form murrai.

1830. R. Dawson, `Present State of Australia,' p. 41:

"On my arrival I learnt from the natives that one party was

still at work a considerable distance up the country, at the

source of one of the rivers, called by the natives `Myall,'

meaning, in their language, Stranger, or a place which they

seldom or never frequent."

1839. T. L. Mitchell, `Three Expeditions,' vol. i. p. 192:

"This tribe gloried in the name of `Myall,' which the natives

nearer to the colony apply in terror and abhorrence to the

`wild blackfellows,' to whom they usually attribute the most

savage propensities."

1844. `Port Phillip Patriot,' Aug. i, p. 4, col. 4:

"Even the wildest of the Myall black fellows--as cannibals

usually are--learned to appreciate him."

1847. J. D. Lang, `Cooksland,' p. 447:

"Words quite as unintelligible to the natives as the

corresponding words in the vernacular language of the white men

would have been, were learned by the natives, and are now

commonly used by them in conversing with Europeans, as English

words. Thus corrobbory, the Sydney word for a general

assembly of natives, is now commonly used in that sense at

Moreton Bay; but the original word there is yanerwille.

Cabon, great; narang little; boodgeree,

good; myall, wild native, etc. etc., are all words of

this description, supposed by the natives to be English words,

and by the Europeans to be aboriginal words of the language of

that district."

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. ii. p. 171:

"A more intimate acquaintance with the ways and customs of the

whites had produced a certain amount of contempt for them among

the myalls."

1882. A. J. Boyd, `Old Colonials,' p. 209:

"I had many conversations with native police officers

on the subject of the amelioration of the wild myalls."

1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia,' p. 150:

"Suddenly he became aware that half-a-dozen of these `myalls,'

as they are called, were creeping towards him through the long

grass. Armed with spears and boomerangs . . ."

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 76:

"These so-called civilized blacks look upon their savage

brethren with more or less contempt, and call them myall."

[Footnote]: "A tree (Acacia pendula) which grows

extensively in the less civilized districts is called by the

Europeans myall. This word was soon applied by the

whites as a term for the wild blacks who frequented these large

remote myall woods. Strange to say, the blacks soon

adopted this term themselves, and used it as an epithet of

abuse, and hence it soon came to mean a person of no culture."

1893. M. Gaunt, `English Illustrated,' March, p. 367:

"He himself had no faith in the myall blacks; they were

treacherous, they were cruel."

(3) By transference, wild cattle.

1893. `The Argus,' April 29, p. 4, col. 4, `Getting in the

Scrubbers':

"To secure these myalls we took down sixty or seventy head of

quiet cows, as dead homers as carrier pigeons, some of them

milking cows, with their calves penned up in the stockyard."

<hw>Myrmecobius</hw>, n. scientific name of the

Australian genus with only one species, called the Banded

Ant-eater (q.v.). (Grk. murmaex, an ant, and

bios life.)

<hw>Myrtle</hw>, n. The true Myrtle, Myrtus

communis, is a native of Asia, but has long been

naturalised in Europe, especially on the shores of the

Mediterranean. The name is applied to many genera of the

family, N.O. Myrtaceae, and has been transferred to many

other trees not related to that order. In Australia the name,

with various epithets, is applied to the following trees--

Backhousia citriodora, F. v. M., N.O. Myrtaceae,

called the Scrub Myrtle and Native Myrtle.

Backhousia myrtifolia, Hook. and Herv.,

N.O. Myrtaceae, called Scrub Myrtle, or Native

Myrtle, or Grey Myrtle, and also Lancewood.

Diospyrus pentamera, F. v. M., N.O. Ebenaceae,

the Black Myrtle and Grey Plum of Northern New

South Wales.

Eugenia myrtifolia, Sims, N.O. Myrtaceae,

known as Native Myrtle, Red Myrtle and Brush

Cherry.

Eugenia ventenatii, Benth., N.O. Myrtaceae,

the Drooping Myrtle or Large-leaved Water-gum.

Melaleuca decussata, R. Br., N.O. Myrtaceae.

Melaleuca genistifolia, Smith, N.O. Myrtaceae,

which is called Ridge Myrtle, and in Queensland

Ironwood.

Myoporum serratum, R. Br., N.O. Myoporineae,

which is called Native Myrtle; and also called

Blue-berry Tree, Native Currant, Native

Juniper, Cockatoo-Bush, and by the aborigines

Palberry.

Myrtus acmenioides, F. v. M., N.O. Myrtaceae,

which is the White Myrtle of the Richmond and Clarence

Rivers (New South Wales), and is also called

Lignum-vitae.

Rhodamnia argentea, Benth., N.O. Myrtaceae,

called White Myrtle, the Muggle-muggle

of the aboriginals of Northern New South Wales.

Syncarpia leptopetala, F. v. M., N.O. Myrtaceae,

which is called Myrtle and also Brush-Turpentine.

Tristania neriifolia, R. Br., N.O. Myrtaceae,

called Water Myrtle, and also Water Gum.

Trochocarpa laurina, R. Br., N.O. Epacrideae,

called Brush-Myrtle, Beech and Brush

Cherry.

In Tasmania, all the Beeches are called Myrtles,

and there are extensive forests of the Beech Fagus

cunninghamii, Hook., which is invariably called "Myrtle"

by the colonists of Tasmania.

1875. T. Laslett, `Timber and Timber Trees,' p. 206:

Table of Tasmanian Woods.

Hgt. Dia. Where found. Use.

ft. in.