1896. `Menu' for October 15:
"Gill-bird on Toast."
1798. D. Collins, `Account of English Colony in New South Wales,' Vocabulary, p. 612:
"Din—a woman."
1830. R. Dawson, `Present State of Australia,' p. 152:
"A proposition was made by one of my natives to go and steal a gin (wife)."
Ibid. p. 153:
"She agrees to become his gin."
1833. Lieut. Breton, R.N., `Excursions in New South Wales,' p. 254:
"The flying gin (gin is the native word for woman or female) is a boomall, and will leave behind every description of dog."
1834. L. E. Threlkeld, `Australian Grammar,' p. x:
"As a barbarism [sc. not used on the Hunter], jin—a wife."
1845. J. O. Balfour, `Sketch of New South Wales,' p. 8:
"A gin (the aboriginal for a married woman)."
1846. C. P. Hodgson, `Reminiscences of Australia,' p. 367:
"Gin, the term applied to the native female blacks; not from any attachment to the spirit of that name, but from some (to me) unknown derivation."
1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discovery in Australia,' vol. I. c. iv. p. 74:
"Though very anxious to . . . carry off one of their `gins,' or wives . . . he yet evidently holds these north men in great dread."
1847. J. D. Lang, `Cooksland,'p. 126, n.:
"When their fire-stick has been extinguished, as is sometimes the case, for their jins or vestal virgins, who have charge of the fire, are not always sufficiently vigilant."
1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes' (edition 1855), p. 98:
"Gins—native women—from gune, mulier, evidently!"
1864. J. Rogers, `New Rush,' pt. 2, p. 46:
"The females would be comely looking gins,Were not their limbs so much like rolling-pins."
1865. S. Bennett, `Australian Discovery,' p. 250:
"Gin or gun, a woman. Greek gunae and derivative words in English, such as generate, generation, and the like."
1872. C. H. Eden, `MY Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 118:
"The gins are captives of their bow and spear, and are brought home before the captor on his saddle. This seems the orthodox way of wooing the coy forest maidens. . . . All blacks are cruel to their gins."
1880. J. Brunton Stephens, `Poems' [Title]:
"To a black gin."
1885. R. M. Praed, `Australian Life,' p. 23:
"Certain stout young gins or lubras, set apart for the purpose, were sacrificed."
1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 296:
"Fresh green leaves, especially of the so-called native ginger (Alpinia caerulea)."
1883. Keighley, `Who are You?' p. 87:
"But then—the fact had better be confessed, I went to work and gave the schooling best."
1887. J. Farrell, `How he Died,' p. 80:
"Charley gave life best and died of grief."
1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. xviii. p. 174:
"It's not like an Englishman to jack up and give these fellows best."
1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 23:
"The musical note of an unknown bird, sounding like `gluck gluck' frequently repeated, and ending in a shake . . . are heard from the neighbourhood of the scrub."
Ibid. p. 29:
"The glucking bird—by which name, in consequence of its note, the bird may be distinguished—was heard through the night."
Ibid. p. 47:
"The glucking-bird and the barking owl were heard throughout the moonlight nights."
Ibid. pp. 398, 399:
"During the night, we heard the well-known note of what we called the `Glucking bird,' when we first met with it in the Cypress-pine country at the early part of our expedition. Its re-appearance with the Cypress-pine corroborated my supposition, that the bird lived on the seeds of that tree."
1892. `Daily News,' London (exact date lost):
"The Bishop of Manchester [Dr. Moorhouse, formerly Bishop of Melbourne], whose authority on missionary subjects will not be disputed, assures us that no one can possibly understand the difficulties and the troubles attendant upon the work of a Colonial bishop or clergyman until he has driven across almost pathless wastes or through almost inaccessible forests, has struggled through what they used to call `glue-pots,' until he has been shaken to pieces by `corduroy roads,' and has been in the midst of forests with the branches of trees falling around on all sides, knowing full well that if one fell upon him he would be killed."
1860. John Blair, `New Zealand for Me,':
"The land of the goai tree, mapu, and pine,The stately totara, and blooming wild vine."
1863. S. Butler, `First Year in Canterbury Settlement,' p. 104:
"I remember nothing but a rather curiously shaped gowai-tree."
1802. G. Barrington, `History of New South Wales,' c. viii. p. 285:
"Among other reptiles were found . . . some brown guanoes."
1830. R. Dawson, `Present state of Australia,' p. 118:
"At length an animal called a guana (a very large species of lizard) jumped out of the grass, and with amazing rapidity ran, as they always do when disturbed, up a high tree."
1864. J. Ropers, `New Rush,' p. 6:
"The shy guana climbs a tree in fear."
1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `A Sydney-side Saxon,' p. 99:
"A goanna startled him, and he set to and kicked the front of the buggy in."
1896. H. Lawson, `When the World was Wide,' p. 139:
"And the sinister `gohanna,' and the lizard, and the snake."
1849. W. Tyrone Power, `Sketches in New Zealand with Pen and Pencil,' p. 160:
"Engaged in the superintendence of a Maori oven, or a huge gipsy-looking cauldron, called a `go-ashore.'"
1877. An Old Colonist, `Colonial Experiences,' p. 124:
"A large go-ashore, or three-legged pot, of the size and shape of the cauldron usually introduced in the witch scene in Macbeth."
1879. C. L. Innes, `Canterbury Sketches,' p. 23:
"There was another pot, called by the euphonious name of a`Go-ashore,' which used to hang by a chain over the fire.This was used for boiling."
Black-tailed G.,—Limosa melanuroides, Gould;
Barred-rumped G.,—L. uropygialis, Gould.
1890. `Goldfields of Victoria,' p. 13:
"A new line of gold-bearing quartz."
1880. G. Sutherland, `Tales of Gold. fields,' p. 36:
"There were over forty miners thus playing at gold-digging in Hiscock's Gully."
1852. J. Bonwick [Title]:
"Notes of a Gold-digger."
1888. A. J. Barbour, `Clara,' c. ix. p. 13:
"The gold fever coursed through every vein."
1858. T. McCombie, `History of Victoria, c. xv. p. 215:
"All were anxious to get away for the gold fields."
1880. G. Sutherland, [Title] `Tales of Goldfields,' p. 19:
"Edward Hargreaves, the discoverer of the Australian goldfields . . . received L15,000 as his reward."
1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. ix. p. 91:
"I rode up the narrow street, serpentine in construction, as in all gold-founded townships."
1852. G. S. Rutter [Title]:
"Hints to Gold-hunters."
1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. v. p. 48:
"I was not as one of the reckless gold-hunters with which the camp was thronged."
1852. J. A.Phillips [Title]:
"Gold-mining; a Scientific Guide for Australian Emigrants."
1880. G. Sutherland, `Tales of Goldfields,' p. 23:
"He had already had quite enough of gold-mining."
1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. xv. p. 150:
"The great gold-seeking multitude had swelled . . . to the population of a province."
1881. F. McCoy, `Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria,' Dec. 6, pl. 53:
"So completely alike was the sound of the Bell-frogs in an adjoining pond at night to the noise of the men by day."
1827. Vigors and Horsfield, `Transactions of Linnaean Society,' vol. xv. p. 315:
"`This bird,' Mr. Caley says, `is called Golden-eye by the settlers. I shot it at Iron Cove, seven miles from Sydney, on the Paramatta road.'"
1896. `The Argus,' July 20, p. 5, col. 8:
"Many persons who had been lured into gathering armfuls of early wattle had cause to regret their devotion to the Australian national bloom, for the golden wattle blossoms produced unpleasant associations in the minds of the wearers of the green, and there were blows and curses in plenty. In political botany the wattle and blackthorn cannot grow side by side."
1896. `The Melburnian,' Aug. 28, p. 53:
"The last two weeks have been alive with signs and tokens, saying `Spring is coming, Spring is here.' And though this may not be the `merry month of May,' yet it is the time of glorious Golden Wattle,—wattle waving by the river's bank, nodding aloft its soft plumes of yellow and its gleaming golden oriflamme, or bending low to kiss its own image in the brown waters which it loves."
1793. `Transactions of the Linn.can Society,' vol. ii. p. 346:
"I [Smith] have given to this . . . genus the name of Goodenia, in honour of . . . Rev. Dr. Goodenough, treasurer of this Society, of whose botanical merits . . . example of Tournefort, who formed Gundelia from Gundelscheimer."
[Dr. Goodenough became Bishop of Carlisle; he was the grandfather of Commodore Goodenough.]
1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 188:
"A species of Goodenia is supposed to be used by the native gins to cause their children to sleep on long journeys, but it is not clear which is used."
1894. `Grey River Argus,' September:
"Several sapphires of good size and colour have been found, also rubies in the matrix—Goodletite."
1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. xvii. p. 204:
"There were a dozen `goondies' to be visited, and the inmates started to their work."
Cape Barren Goose—Cereopsis novae-hollandiae, Lath. [Gould (`Birds ofAustralia,' vol. vii. pl. 1) calls it the Cereopsis Goose, orCape Barren Goose of the Colonists.]
Maned G. (or Wood-duck, q.v.)—Branta jubata, Lath.
Pied G.—Anseranus melanoleuca, Lath.Called also Magpie-Goose and Swan-Goose.
1843. J. Backhouse, `Narrative of a Visit to the AustralianColonies,' p. 75:
"Five pelicans and some Cape Barren Geese were upon the beach of Preservation Island [Bass Strait]."
Green,— Nettapus pulchellus, Gould;
White-quilled,—N. albipennis, Gould.
1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition, p. 479:
"My companions had, for several days past, gathered the unripe fruits of Coniogeton arborescens, R. Br., which, when boiled, imparted an agreeable acidity to the water. . . . When ripe, they became sweet and pulpy, like gooseberries. . . . This resemblance induced us to call the tree `the little gooseberry-tree.' "
1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discovery in Australia,' vol. II. c. iii. p. 115:
"The gouty-stem tree . . . bears a very fragrant white flower, not unlike the jasmine." [Illustration given at p. 116.]
1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. i. p. 2S9 [Note]:
"This tree is distinguished by the extraordinary swollen appearance of the stem, which looks as though the tree were diseased or the result of a freak of nature. The youngest as well as the oldest trees have the same deformed appearance, and inside the bark is a soft juicy pulp instead of wood, which is said to be serviceable as an article of food. The stem of the largest tree at Careening Bay was twenty-nine feet in girth; it is named the Adansonia digitata. A species is found in Africa. In Australia it occurs only on the north coast."
1846. G. H. Haydon, `Five Years in Australia Felix,' p. 122:
"Three government men or convicts."
1852. J. West, `History of Tasmania,' vol. ii. p. 127:
"Government men, as assigned servants were called."
1856. W. W. Dobie, `Recollections of a Visit to Port Phillip,' p. 47:
"Government labourers, at ten shillings a-day, were breaking stones with what is called `the Government stroke,' which is a slow-going, anti-sweating kind of motion. . . ."
1873. A. Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' c. ix. [near end] p. 163:
"In colonial parlance the government stroke is that light and easy mode of labour—perhaps that semblance of labour—which no other master will endure, though government is forced to put up with it."
1893. `Otago Witness,' December 2r, p. 9, col. 1:
"The government stroke is good enough for this kind of job."
1897. `The Argus,' Feb. 22, p. 4, col. 9:
"Like the poor the unemployed are always with us, but they have a penchant for public works in Melbourne, with a good daily pay and the `Government stroke' combined."
1883. Edward O. Cotton, `Evidence before Royal Commission on the Fisheries of Tasmania,' p. 82:
"Put a graball down where you will in `bell-rope' kelp, more silver trumpeter will get in than any other fish."
1883. Ibid. p. xvii:
"Between sunrise and sunset, nets, known as `graballs,' may be used."
1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 66:
"Native grape; Gippsland grape. This evergreen climber yields black edible fruits of the size of cherries. This grape would perhaps be greatly improved by culture. (Mueller.)"
1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. iv. pl. 82:
"Zosterops chloronotus, Gould, Green-backed Z.; Grape and Fig-eater, Colonists of Swan River."
Beyond these considerations, the settlers of Australia, whose wealth depends chiefly on its pastoral occupation, have introduced many of the best Old-World pasture grasses (chiefly of the genera Poa and Festuca), and many thousands of acres are said to be "laid down with English grass." Some of these are now so wide-spread in their acclimatization, that the botanists are at variance as to whether they are indigenous to Australia or not; the Couch Grass, for instance (Cynodon dactylon, Pers.), or Indian Doub Grass, is generally considered to be an introduced grass, yet Maiden regards it as indigenous.
There remain, "from the vast assemblage of our grasses, even some hundred indigenous to Australia" (von Muller), and a like number indigenous to New Zealand, the greater proportion of which are endemic. Many of these, accurately named in Latin and described by the botanists, have not yet found their vernacular equivalents; for the bushman and the settler do not draw fine botanical distinctions. Maiden has classified and fully described 158 species as "Forage Plants," of which over ninety have never been christened in English. Mr. John Buchanan, the botanist and draughtsman to the Geographical Survey of New Zealand, has prepared for his Government a `Manual of the Indigenous Grasses of New Zealand,' which enumerates eighty species, many of them unnamed in English, and many of them common also to Australia and Tasmania. These two descriptive works, with the assistance of Guilfoyle's Botany and Travellers' notes, have been made the basis of the following list of all the common Australian names applied to the true Grasses of the N.O. Gramineae. Some of them of very special Australian character appear also elsewhere in the Dictionary in their alphabetical places, while a few other plants, which are grasses by name and not by nature, stand in such alphabetical place alone, and not in this list. For facility of comparison and reference the range and habitat of each species is indicated in brackets after its name; the more minute limitation of such ranges is not within the scope of this work. The species of Grass present in Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand are—
1. Alpine Rice Grass—Ehrharta colensoi, Cook. (N.Z.)
2. Alpine Whorl G.—Catabrosa antarctica, Hook. f. (N.Z.)
3. Bamboo G.—Glyceria ramigera, F. v. M. (A.)Called also Cane Grass.Stipa verticillata, Nees.(A.)
4. Barcoo G. (of Queensland)—Anthistiria membranacea, Lindl. (A.)Called also Landsborough Grass.
5. Barnyard G.—Panicum crus-galli, Linn. (A., not endemic.)Called also Cockspur Grass.
6. Bayonet G.—Aciphylla colensoi.(N.Z.)Called also Spear-Grass (see 112), andSpaniard (q.v.).
7. Bent G.—Alpine—Agrostis muellerii, Benth. (A., N.Z., not endemic.)Deyeuxia setifolia, Hook. f. (N.Z.)
8. Bent G.—Australian—Deyeuxia scabra, Benth. (A., T., N.Z.)
9. Bent G.—Billardiere's—D. billardierii, R. Br. (A., T., N.Z.)
10. Bent G.—Brown—Agrostis carina, Linn. (N.Z.)
11. Bent G.—Campbell Island—A. antarctica, Hook. f. (N.Z.)
12. Bent G.—Dwarf Mountain—A. subululata, Hook. f. (N.Z.)
13. Bent G.—Oat-like—Deyeuxia avenoides, Hook. f. (N.Z.)
14. Bent G.—Pilose—D. pilosa, Rich. (N.Z.)
15. Bent G.—Slender—Agrostis scabra, Willd. (A., T., N.Z.)
16. Bent G.—Spiked— Deyeuxia quadriseta, R. Br. (A., T., N.Z.) Called also Reed Grass.
17. Bent G.—Toothea—D. forsteri, Kunth. (A., T., N.Z.)
18. Bent G.—Young's—D. youngii, Hook. f. (N.Z.)
19. Blady G.—Ipperata arundinacea, Cyr. (A.)
20. Blue G.—Andropogon annulatus, Forst. (A.)A. pertusus, Willd. (A.)A. sericeus, R. Br. (A.)
21. Brome G.—Seaside.—8romus arenarius, Labill. (A., N.Z.)Called also Wild Oats.
22. Canary G.—Phalaris canariensis. (A.)
23. Cane G.—(i.q. Bamboo Grass. See 3.)
24. Chilian G.—(i.q. Rat—tailed Grass. See 97.)
25. Cockspur G.—(i.q. Barnyard Grass. See 5.)
26. Couch G.—Cynodon dactylon, Pers. (A., not endemic.)Called also Indian Doub Grass.
27. Couch G.—Native—Distichlys maritima, Raffinesque. (A.)
28. Couch G.—Water—(i.q. Seaside Millet. See 50.)
29. Feather G.—(Several species of Stipa. See 101.)
30. Fescue G.—Hard—Festuca duriuscula, Linn. (Australasia, not endemic.)
31. Fescue G.—Poa-like—F. scoparia, Hook. f. (N.Z.)
32. Fescue G.—Sandhill—F. littoralis, R. Br., var. triticoides,Benth. (A., T., N.Z.)
33. Fescue G.—Sheeps'—F. ovina, Linn. (A., T.)
34. Finger G.—Cocksfoot—Panicum sanguinale, Linn. (A., not endemic.)Called also Hairy Finger Grass, and Reddish PanicGrass.
35. Finger G.—Egyptian—Eleusine aegyptica, Pers. (A., not endemic.)
36. Finger G.—Hairy—(i.q .Cocksfoot Finger Grass. See 33.)
37. Foxtail G.—(i.q. Knee jointed Foxtazl Grass. See 42.)
38. Hair G.—Crested—Koeleria cristata, Pers. (A., T., N.Z.)
39. Hair G.—Turfy—Deschampia caespitosa, Beavo. (N.Z., not endemic.)
40. Holy G.—Hierochloe alpina, Roem. & Schult. (Australasia, notendemic.)
41. Indian Doub G.—(i.q. Couch Grass. See 26.)
42. Kangaroo G. (A., T., not endemic)—Andropogon refractus, R. Br.Anthistiria avenacea, F. v. M. (Called also OatGrass.)A. ciliata, Linn. (Common K.G.)A. frondosa, R. Br. (Broad-leaved K.G.)
43. Knee-jointed Fox-tail G.— Alopecurus geniculatus, Linn. (Australasia, not endemic.)
44. Landsborough G.—(i.q. Barcoo Grass. See 4.)
45. Love G.—Australian—Eragrostis brownii, Nees. (A.)
46. Manna G.—Glyceria fluitans, R. Br. (A.,T.)
47. Millet—Australian—Panicum decompositum, R. Br. (A., not endemic.)Called also Umbrella Grass.
48. Millet—Ditch—Paspalum scrobitulatum, F. v. M. (A., N.Z., not endemic.)The Koda Millet of India.
49. Millet—Equal-glumed—Isachne australis, R. Br. (A., N.Z., not endemic.)
50. Millet-Seaside—Paspalum distichum, Burmann. (A., N.Z., not endemic.)Called also Silt Grass, and Water Couch Grass.
51. Mitchell G.—Astrebla elymoides, F. v. M. (A., True MitchellGrass.)A. pectinata, F. v. M. (A.)A. tritzcoides, F. v. M. (A.)
52. Mouse G.—(i.q.) Longhaired Plume Grass. See 72.)
53. Mulga G.—Danthonia racemosa, R. Br. (A.)Neurachnea Mitchelliana, Nees. (A.)
54. New Zealand Wind G.—Apera arundinacea, Palisot. (N.Z., not endemic.)
55. Oat G.—Anthistiria avenacea, F. v. M. (Called also KangarooGrass. See 41.)
56. Oat G.—Alpine—Danthonia semi-annularis, R. Br., var. alpina.(N.Z.)
57. Oat G.—Buchanan's—D. buchanii; Hook. f. (N.Z.)
58. Oat G.—Few-flowered—D. pauciflora, R. Br. (A., T., N.Z.)
59. Oat G.—Hard—D. pilosa, R. Br., var. stricta. (N.Z.)
60. Oat G.—Naked—D. nuda, Hook. f. (N.Z.)
61. Oat G.—New Zealand—D. semi-annularis, R. Br. (A., T., N.Z.)
62. Oat G.—Purple-awned—D. pilosa, R. Br. (A., T., N.Z.)
63. Oat G.—Racemed—D. pilosa, R. Br., var. racemosa. (N.Z.)
64. Oat G.—Shining—Trisetum antarcticum, Hook. f. (N.Z.)
65. Oat G.—Sheep—Danthonia semi-annularis, R. Br., var. gracilis.(N.Z.)
66. Oat G.—Spiked—Trisetum subspicatum, Beauv. (Australasia, notendemic.)
67. Oat G.—Thompson's Naked—Danthonia thomsonii (new species).
68. Oat G.—Wiry-leaved—D. raoulii, Steud, var. Australis, Buchanan. (N.Z.)
69. Oat G.—Young's— Trisetum youngii, Hook. f. (N.Z.)
70. Panic G.—Reddish—(i.q. Cocksfoot Finger-Grass. See 34.)
71. Panic G.—Slender—Oplismenus salarius, var. Roem. and Schult. (A., N.Z.,not endemic.)
72. Paper G.—Native—Poa caespitosa, Forst. (A., T., N.Z.)Called also Wiry Grass, Weeping Polly,and Tussock Poa Grass; and, in New Zealand,Snow Grass.
73. Plume G.—Long-haired—Dichelachne crinita, Hook. f. (A., T., N.Z.)
74. Plume G.—Short-haired—D. sciurea, Hook. f. (A., T., N.Z.)
75. Poa G.—Auckland Island—Poa foliosa, Hook. f., var. a. (N.Z.)
76. Poa G.—Brown-flowered—P. lindsayi, Hook. f. (N.Z.)
77. Poa G.—Brown MountainP. mackayi (new species). (N.Z.)
78. Poa G.—Colenso's—P. colensoi, Hook. f.(N.Z.) 79.
79. Poa G.—Common Field—P. anceps, Forst., var. b, foliosa, Hook. f.(N.Z.)
80. Pea G.—Dense-floweredP. anceps, Forst., var. d, densiflora,Hook. f. (N.Z.)
81. Poa G.—Dwarf—P. pigmaea (new species). (N.Z.)
82. Pea G.—Hard short-stemmed—P. anceps, Forst., var. c, brevicalmis,Hook. f. (N.Z.)
83. Poa G.—Kirk's—P. kirkii (new species). (N.Z.)
84. Poa G.—Large-flowered—P. foliosa, Hook. f., var. B. (N.Z.)
85. Poa G.—Little—P. exigua, Hook. f. (N.Z.)
86. Poa G.—Minute—P, foliosa, Hook. f., var. C. (N.Z.)
87. Poa G.—Minute Creeping—P. pusilla, Berggren. (N.Z.)
88. Pea G.—Nodding Plumed—P. anceps, Forst., var. A, elata,Hook. f. (N.Z.)
89. Poa G.—One-flowered—P. unifora (new species). (N.Z.)
90. Poa G.—Short-glumed—P. breviglumus, Hook. f.(N.Z.)
91. Poa G.—Slender—P. anceps, Forst., var. E, debilis, Kirk,Ms. (N.Z.)
92. Poa G.—Small Tussock—P. intemedia (new species). (N.Z.)
93. Poa G.—Tussock—P. caespitosa, Forst. (A., T., N.Z. See 71.)
94. Poa G.—Weak-stemmed—Eragrostis imbebecilla, Benth. (A., N.Z.)
95. Poa G.—White-flowered—Poa sclerophylla, Berggren. (N.Z.)
96. Porcupine G. (q.v.)—Triodia (various species).
97. Rat-tailed G.—Sporobulus indicus, R. Br. (A., N.Z., not endemic.)Called also Chilian Grass.Ischaeum laxum, R. Br. (A.)
98. Reed G.—Pragmites communis, Trin. (N.Z. See 16.)
99. Rice G.—Leersia hexandria, Swartz. (A.)
100. Rice G.—Bush—Microtaena avenacea, Hook. f. (N.Z.)
101. Rice G.—Knot-jointed—M. polynoda, Hook. f. (N.Z.)
102. Rice G.—Meadow—M. stipoides, R. Br. (A.,T., N.Z.)Called also Weeping Grass.
103. Roly-Poly G.—Panicum macractinum, Benth. (A.)
104. Rough-bearded G.—Echinopogon ovatus, Palisot. (A., T., N.Z.)
105. Sacred G.—Hierochloe redolens, R. Br. (Australasia, not endemic.)Called also Scented Grass, and Sweet-scentedGrass.
106. Scented G.—Chrysopogon parviforus, Benth. (A.) See also 105.
107. Seaside Brome G.—(i.q. Brome Grass. See 21.)
108. Silt G.—(i.q. Seaside Millet. See 50.)
109. Seaside Glumeless G.—Gymnostychum gracile, Hook. f. (N.Z.)
110. Snow G. (q.v.)—(i.q. Paper Grass. See 72.) (N.Z.)
111. Spear G. (q.v.)—Aciphylla colensoi. (N.Z.)Called also Spaniard (q.v.).Heteropogon contortus, Roem. and Shult. (N.Z.),and all species of Stipa (A., T.).
112. Spider G.—Panicum divaricatissimum, R. Br. (A.)
113. Spinifex G. (q.v.)—Spinifex hirsutus, Labill. (A., T., N.Z., not endemic.)Called also Spiny Rolling Grass.
114. Star G.—Blue—Chloris ventricosa, R. Br. (A.)
115. Star G.—Dog's Tooth—C. divaricata, R. Br. (A.)
116. Star G.—Lesser—C. acicularis, Lindl. (A.)
117. Sugar G.—Pollinia fulva, Benth.(A.)
118. Summer G.—(i.q. Hairy-Finger Grass. See 36.)
119. Sweet G.—Glyceria stricta, Hook. f. (A., T., N.Z.)
120. Sweet-scented G.—(i.q. Sacred Grass. See 105.)
121. Traveller's G. (N.O. Aroideae).—(i.q. Settlers' Twine, q.v.)
122. Tussock G.—(See 93 and 72.)
123. Tussock G.— Broad-leaved Oat—Danthonia flavescens, Hook. f. (N.Z.)
124. Tussock G.—Erect Plumed—Arundo fulvida, Buchanan. (N.Z.) Maori name,Tot-toi (q.v.).
125. Tussock G.—Narrow-leaved Oat— Danthonia raoulii, Steud. (N.Z.)
126. Tussock G.—Plumed— Arundo conspicua, A. Cunn. (N.Z.) Maori name, Toi-toi (q.v.).
127. Tussock G.—Small-flowered Oat—Danthonia cunninghamii, Hook. f. (N.Z.)
128. Petrie's Stipa G.—Stipa petriei (new species). See 101. /?111?/ (N.Z.)
129. Umbrella G.—(i.q. Australian Millet. See 47.)
130. Wallaby G.—Danthonia penicileata, F. v. M. (A., N.Z.)
131. Weeping G.—(i.q. Meadow Rice Grass. See 102.)
132. Weeping Polly G.—(i.q. Paper Grass. See 72.)
133. Wheat G.—Blue—Agropyrum scabrum, Beauv. (A., T., N.Z.)
134. Wheat G.—Short-awned—Triticum multiflorum, Banks and Sol. (N.Z.)
135. White-topped G.—Danthonia longifolia, R. Br. (A.)
136. Windmill G.—Chloris truncata, R. Br. (A.)
137. Wire G.—Ehrharta juncea, Sprengel; a rush-like grass of hillycountry. (A., T., N.Z.)Cynodon dactylum, Pers.; so called from its knotted,creeping, wiry roots, so difficult to eradicate in gardensand other cultivated land. (Not endemic.) See 26.
138. Wiry G.—.(i.q. Paper Grass. See 72.)
139. Wiry Dichelachne G.—Stipa teretefolia, Steud. (A., T., N.Z.)
140. Woolly-headed G.—Andropogon bombycinus, R. Br. (A.)
141. Vandyke G.—Panicum flavidum, Retz. (A.)
1883. F. M. Bailey, `Synopsis of Queensland Flora,' p. 693:
"Grass-leaved fern. . . . Frond varying in length from a few inches to several feet, and with a breadth of from one to five lines. . . . This curious grass-like fern may be frequently seen fringing the stems of the trees in the scrubs of tropical Queensland, in which situation the fronds are usually very long."
Blue-winged ParrakeetEuphema aurantia, Gould.
Bourke's P.—E. bourkii, Gould.
Grass-P.—E. elegans, Gould.
Orange-bellied P.—E. chrysogastra, Lath.
Orange-throated P.—E. splendida, Gould.
Red-shouldered P.—E. pulchella, Shaw.
Warbling Grass-P.—Gould's name for Budgerigar (q.v.).
See also Rock-Parrakeet (Euphema petrophila, Gould), which is sometimes classed as a Grass-Parrakeet.
(2) In New Zealand Pseudopanax crassifolium, Seemann, N.O. Araleaceae. When young, this is the same as Umbrella-tree, so called from its appearance like the ribs of an umbrella. When older, it grows more straight and is called Lancewood (q.v.).
(3) In Tasmania, besides two species of Xanthorrhoea the Grass-tree of the mainland, the Richea dracophylla, R. Br., N.O. Epacrideae, found on Mount Wellington, near Hobart, is also known by that name, whilst the Richea pandanifolia, Hook., found in the South-west forests, is called the Giant Grass-tree. Both these are peculiar to the island.
(4) An obsolete name for Cordyline australis, Hook., N.O. Liliaceae, now more usually called Cabbage- tree (q.v.).
1802. D. Collins, `Account of New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 153:
"A grass tree grows here, similar in every respect to that about Port Jackson."
1830. R. Dawson, `Present State of Australia,' p. 347:
"Yielding frequently a very weak and sour kind of grass, interspersed with a species of bulrush called grass-trees, which are universal signs of poverty.":
1833. C. Sturt, `Southern Australia,' Vol II. c. iii. p. 54:
"The grass-tree is not found westward of the mountains."
1839. T. L. Mitchell, `Three Expeditions,' vol. ii. p. 303:
"We approached a range of barren hills of clay slate, on which grew the grass-tree (Xanthorhoea) and stunted eucalypti."
1862. H. C. Kendall, `Poems,' p. 74:
"The shimmering sunlight fell and kissedThe grass-tree's golden sheaves."
1867. F. Hochstetter, `New Zealand,' p. 132:
"Here and there, in moist places, arises isolated the `grass-tree' or `cabbage-tree' (Ti of the natives; Cordyline Australis)."
1874. Garnet Walch, `Head over Heels,' p. 80:
"The grass-trees in front, blame my eyes,Seemed like plumes on the top of a hearse."
1877. F. v. Mueller, `Botanic Teachings,' p. 119:
"How strikingly different the external features of plants may be, though floral structure may draw them into congruity, is well demonstrated by our so-called grass-trees, which pertain truly to the liliaceous order. These scientifically defined as Xanthorhoeas from the exudation of yellowish sap, which indurates into resinous masses, have all the essential notes of the order, so far as structure of flowers and fruits is concerned, but their palm-like habit, together with cylindric spikes on long and simple stalks, is quite peculiar, and impresses on landscapes, when these plants in masses are occuring, a singular feature."
1879. A. R. Wallace, `Australasia' (ed. 1893), p. 52:
"The grass trees (Xanthorrhoea) are a peculiar feature to the Australian landscape. From a rugged stem, varying from two to ten or twelve feet in height, springs a tuft of drooping wiry foliage, from the centre of which rises a spike not unlike a huge bulrush. When it flowers in winter, this spike becomes covered with white stars, and a heath covered with grass trees then has an appearance at once singular and beautiful."
1882. A. Tolmer, `Reminiscences,' vol, ii. p. 102:
"The root of the grass-tree is pleasant enough to eat, and tastes something like the meat of the almond-tree; but being unaccustomed to the kind of fare, and probably owing to the empty state of our stomachs, we suffered severely from diarrhoea."
1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia,' p. 43:
"Grass-trees are most comical-looking objects. They have a black bare stem, from one to eight feet high, surmounted by a tuft of half rushes and half grass, out of which, again, grows a long thing exactly like a huge bullrush. A lot of them always grow together, and a little way off they are not unlike the illustrations of Red-Indian chiefs in Fenimore Cooper's novels."
1889. T. Kirk, `Forest Flora of New Zealand,' p. 59:
"It [Pseudopanax crassifolium, the Horoeka] is commonly called lance-wood by the settlers in the North Island, and grass-tree by those in the South. This species was discovered during Cook's first voyage, and it need cause no surprise to learn that the remarkable difference between the young and mature states led so able a botanist as Dr. Solander to consider them distinct plants."
1896. Baldwin Spencer. `Horne Expedition in Central Australia,' Narrative, p. 98:
"As soon as the came upon the Plains we found ourselves in a belt of grass trees belonging to a species not hitherto described (X. Thorntoni). . . . The larger specimens have a stem some five or six feet high, with a crown of long wiry leaves and a flowering stalk, the top of which is fully twelve feet above the ground."
[Compare Blackboy and Maori-head.
1880. W. Senior, `Travel and Trout,' p. 93:
"These must be the long-looked-for cucumber mullet, or fresh- water herring. . . . `The cucumber mullet,' I explain, `I have long suspected to be a grayling.'"
1882. Rev._I. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,' p. 109:
"Though not a fish of New South Wales, it may be as well to mention here the Australian grayling, which in character, habits, and the manner of its capture is almost identical with the English fish of that name. In shape there is some difference between the two fish. . . . A newly caught fish smells exactly like a dish of fresh-sliced cucumber. It is widely distributed in Victoria, and very abundant in all the fresh-water streams of Tasmania. . . . In Melbourne it goes by the name of the Yarra herring. There is another species in New Zealand."
1889. Cassell's `Picturesque Australasia,' vol. iv. p. 206:
"The river abounds in delicious grayling or cucumber fish, rather absurdly designated the `herring' in this [Deloraine] and some other parts of the colony [Tasmania]."
Black-throated Grebe—Podiceps novae-hollandiae, Gould.
Hoary-headed G.—P. nestor, Gould.
Tippet G.—P. cristataes, Linn.
But Buller sees no reason for separating P. cristatus from the well-known P. cristatus of Europe. Some of the Grebes are sometimes called Dabchicks (q.v.).
1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 285:
"The Crested Grebe is generally-speaking a rare bird in both islands."
1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 27:
"Drivers, who walked beside their teams carrying over their shoulders a long-handled whip with thong of raw salted hide, called in the colony `greenhide.'"
1896. `The Australasian,' Jan. 11, p. 73, col. 1:
"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."
1897. A. J. Campbell (in `The Australasian,'Jan. 23), p. 180, col. 5:
"Every schoolboy about Melbourne knows what the `greenie' is—the white-plumed honey-eater (P. penicillata). The upper-surface is yellowish-grey, and the under-surface brownish in tone. The white-plumed honey-eater is common in Victoria, where it appears to be one of the few native birds that is not driven back by civilisation. In fact, its numbers have increased in the parks and gardens in the vicinity of Melbourne."
1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. v. pl. 15:
"Polytelis Barrabandi, Wagl., Barraband's Parrakeet; Green-leek of the colonists of New South Wales."
1855. R. Howitt, `Two Years in Victoria,' vol. i. p. 123:
"We observed m the hollow trees several nests of the little green paroquet,—here, from its colour, called the leek."
1859. A.S. Thomson, `Story of New Zealand,' p. 140:
"The greenstone composing these implements of war is called nephrite by mineralogists, and is found in the Middle Island of New Zealand, in the Hartz, Corsica, China and Egypt. The most valuable kind is clear as glass with a slight green tinge."
1889. Dr. Hocken, `Catalogue of New Zealand Exhibition,' p. 181:
"This valued stone—pounamu of the natives—nephrite, is found on the west coast of the South Island. Indeed, on Captain Cook's chart this island is called `T'Avai Poenammoo'—Te wai pounamu, the water of the greenstone."
1892. F. R. Chapman, `The Working of Greenstone by the Maoris' (New Zealand Institute), p. 4:
"In the title of this paper the word `greenstone' occurs, and this word is used throughout the text. I am quite conscious that the term is not geologically or mineralogically correct; but the stone of which I am writing is known by that name throughout New Zealand, and, though here as elsewhere the scientific man employs that word to describe a totally different class of rock, I should run the risk of being misunderstood were I to use any other word for what is under that name an article of commerce and manufacture in New Zealand. It is called `pounamu' or `poenamu' by the Maoris, and `jade,' `jadeite,' or `nephrite' by various writers, while old books refer to the `green talc' of the Maoris."
1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 294:
"It was at the lower part of the Lynd that we first saw the green-tree ant; which seemed to live in small societies in rude nests between the green leaves of shady trees."