J

1885. R. M. Praed, `Australian Life,' p. 57:

"A lonely hut . . . and a kitchen—a smaller humpey—at the back."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Squatter's Dream,' p. 247:

"He's to bed in the humpy."

1893. Gilbert Parker, `Pierre and his People,' p. 135:

"Shon McGann was lying on a pile of buffalo robes in a mountain hut,—an Australian would call it a humpey."

Hungry Quartz, n. a miner's term for unpromising Quartz (q.v.)

Huon-Pine, n. a large Tasmanian evergreen tree, Dacrydium franklinii, Hook, N.O. Coniferae. The timber is prized in cabinet-work, being repellent to insects, durable, and fairly easy to work; certain pieces are beautifully marked, and resemble bird's-eye maple. The Huon is a river in the south of Tasmania, called after a French officer. See Pine.

1800. J. J. Labillardiere, `Voyage a la Recherche de la Perouse,' tom. i., Introd. p. xi:

"Ces deux flutes recurent des noms analogues au but de l'entreprise. Celle que montoit le general, Dentrecasteaux, fut nommee la Recherche, et l'autre, commandee par le major de vaisseau, Huon Kermadec, recut le nom de l'Esperance. . . . Bruny Dentrecasteaux [fut le] commandant de l'expedition, [et] Labillardiere [fut le] naturaliste."

[Of these gentlemen of France and their voyage the names BruniIsland, D'Entrecasteaux Channel, Recherche Bay, Port Esperance,Kermandie [sic] River, Huon Island, Huon River, perpetuate thememory in Southern Tasmania, and the Kermadec Islands in theSouthern Ocean.]

1820. C. Jeffreys, R.N., `Geographical and Descriptive Delineations of the Island of Van Diemen's Land,' p. 28:

"On the banks of these newly discovered rivers, and the harbour, grows the Huon Pine (so called from the river of that name, where it was first found)."

1829. `The Tasmanian Almanack,' p. 87:

"1816. Huon pine and coal discovered at Port Davey and Macquarie Harbour."

1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' Vol. ii. p. 23:

"Huon-pine is by far the most beautiful wood found in the island."

1852. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes,' (edition 1855) p. 515:

"Knots of the beautiful Huon pine, finer than bird's-eye maple for ornamental furniture."

1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. i. p. 71:

"The river was named the Huon, and has since become celebrated for the production which yields the pretty cabinet-wood known as Huon pine."

1890. Lyth, `Golden South,' c. xii. p. 102:

"The huon-pine is of immense height and girth."

Hut, n. the cottage of a shepherd or a miner. The word is English but is especially common in Australia, and does not there connote squalor or meanness. The "Men's Hut" on a station is the building occupied by the male employees.

1844. `Port Phillip Patriot,' July 11, pt. 1, c. 3:

"At the head station are a three-roomed hut, large kitchen, wool-shed, etc."

1862. G. T. Lloyd, `Thirty-three Years in Tasmania,' p. 21:

"If a slab or log hut was required to be erected . . . a cart-load of wool was pitchforked from the wasting heap, wherewith to caulk the crevices of the rough-hewn timber walls."

1884. Rolf Boldrewood, `Melbourne Memories,' c. vi. p. 42:

"`The hut,' a substantial and commodious structure, arose in all its grandeur."

1890. Id. `Miner's Right,' c. vi. p. 62:

"Entering such a hut, as it is uniformly, but in no sense of contempt, termed—a hut being simply lower in the scale than a cottage—you will find there nothing to shock the eye or displease the taste."

1891. W. Tilley, `Wild West of Tasmania,' p. 29:

"Bark and weatherboard huts alternating with imposing hotels and stores."

Hut-keep, v. to act as hut-keeper.

1865. S. Sidney, `Three Colonies of Australia,' p. 380

"At this, as well as at every other station I have called at, a woman `hutkeeps,' while the husband is minding the sheep."

1890. `Melbourne Argus,' June 14th, p. 4, col. 2:

"`Did you go hut-keeping then?' `Wrong again. Did I go hut-keeping? Did you ever know a hut-keeper cook for sixty shearers?'"

Hut-keeper, n. Explained in quotations.

1802. D. Collins, `Account of New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 285:

"Old men, unfit for anything but to be hut-keepers who were to remain at home to prevent robbery, while the other inhabitants of the hut were at labour."

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. II. c. iii. p. 458

"My object was to obtain these heads, which the . . . hut-keeper instantly gave."

1853. G. Butler Earp, `What we Did in Australia,' p. 17:

"The lowest industrial occupation in Australia, viz. a hut-keeper in the bush . . . a station from which many of the wealthiest flockmasters in Australia have risen."

1883. E. M. Curr, `Recollections of Squatting in Victoria' (1841-1851), p. 21:

"A bush hut-keeper, who baked our damper, fried our chops."

Hyacinth, Native, n. a Tasmanian flower, Thelymitra longifolia, R. and G. Forst., N.O. Orchideae.

Hyaena, n. See Thylacine, and Tasmanian Tiger.

Hypsiprymnodon, n. the scientific name of the genus of the Australian animal called Musk Kangaroo. (Grk. hupsiprumnos, with a high stern.) A very small, rat-like, arboreal kangaroo, about ten inches long. The strong musky odour from which it takes its vernacular name is perceptible in both sexes.

1874. R. Lydekker, `Marsupialia,' p. 73:

"The third and last subfamily (Hypsiprymnodontidae) of the Macropodidae is represented solely by the remarkable creature known, from its strong scent, as the Musk-kangaroo."

Ibis, n. There are twenty-four species of this bird distributed over all the warmer parts of the globe. Those present in Australasia are—

Glossy (Black, or Bay) Ibis—Ibis falcinellus, Linn.

Straw-necked I.—Geronticus spinnicollis, Jameson.

White I.—Threskiornis strictipennis, Gould.

Of these the last two are confined to Australia, the first is cosmopolitan.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 155:

"All they had for supper and breakfast were a straw-coloured ibis, a duck and a crow."

Ibid. p. 300:

"Crows were feasting on the remains of a black Ibis."

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

"Geronticus spinicollis, straw-necked ibis (pl. 45). This beautiful ibis has never yet been discovered out of Australia, over the whole of which immense country it is probably distributed."

"Threskiornis strictipennis, white ibis" (pl. 46).

"Ibis falcinellus, Linn., glossy ibis" (pl. 47).

1892. `The Australasian,' April 9, p. 707, col. 4:

"When the hoarse-voiced jackass mocked us, and the white-wingedibis flewPast lagoons and through the rushes, far away into the blue."

Ice-Plant, n. Tasmanian name for Tetragonia implexicoma, Hook., N.O. Ficoideae, B. Fl. Various species of Tetragonia are cultivated as Spinach (q.v.).

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 63:

"Called `ice-plant' in Tasmania. Baron Mueller suggests that this plant be cultivated for spinach. [Found in] all the colonies except Queensland."

Identity, Old, n. phrase denoting a person well known in a place. a term invented in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1862, in a popular topical song, by Mr. R. Thatcher, an improvisator. In the song the "Old Identity," the former resident of Dunedin, was distinguished from the "New Iniquity," as the people were termed who came from Australia.

1879. W. J. Barry, `Up and Down,' p. 197:

"The old identities were beginning to be alive to the situation."

1894. `Sydney Morning Herald,' Oct.:

"It is permissible to wonder about the origin of the phrase `an old identity.' Surely no man, however old, can be an identity? An entity he is, or a nonentity; an individual, a centenarian, or an oldest inhabitant; but identity is a condition of sameness, of being identical with something. One can establish one's identity with that of some one who is being sought or sued, but once established it escapes us."

Inaka, n. a fish. See Inanga.

Inanga or Inaka, n. (the ng as in the word singer, not as in finger), a New Zealand fish, Galaxias attenuatus, or Retropinna richardsoni. It is often called the Whitebait and Minnow, and in Tasmania the larger variety is called Jolly-tail. The change from Inanga to Inaka is a dialectal Maori variation, answering exactly to the change from North Island Kainga to South Island Kaik (q.v.).

1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 100:

"This fish is called hinanga [sic.], and resembles Blackwall white-bait in size and flavour. Its colour is a pinkish white, spotted with black."

1896. `The Australasian,' Aug. 28, p. 407, col. 3:

"About the same size as this fish [the cockabully] is the `inaka' much used for bait. Indeed, it is called the New Zealand whitebait. A friend from Victoria having used this bait, I asked him to spell the name of the fish, and he wanted to make it like the patriarch who `walked with God' —Enoch-a. The more correct shape of the Maori word is inanga; but in the South Island `k' often takes the place of that distinctive Maori letter `ng,' as `kainga' becomes kaik; ngaio, kaio."

Inchman, n. a Tasmanian name for the Bull-dog Ant (q.v.), from its length, which is sometimes nearly an inch.

Indians, pl. n. early and now obsolete name for the Aboriginals in Australia and even for the Maoris.

1769. J. Banks, `Journal,' Oct. 21 (Sir J. D. Hooker edition), p. 191:

"We applied to our friends the Indians for a passage in one of their canoes."

[These were Maoris.]

1770. Ibid. April 28:

"During this time, a few of the Indians who had not followed the boat remained on the rock opposite the ship, threatening and menacing with their pikes and swords."

[These were Australian Aboriginals.]

1825. Barron Field, `Geographical Memoirs of New South Wales,' p. 437:

"Some of the Indians have also seriously applied to be allowed convict labourers, as the settlers are, although they have not patience to remain in the huts which our Government has built for them, till the maize and cabbage that have been planted to their hands are fit to gather."

1830. `The Friend of Australia,' p. 244:

"It is the observation of some writers, that the system pursued in Australia for educating the children of the Indians is not attended with success. The black children will never do any good there, until some other plan is commenced . . ."

Indigo, Native, n. all the species of Swainsonia, N.O. Leguminosae, are called "Native Indigos." See Indigo-plant. In Tasmania, the Native Indigo is Indigofera australis, Willd., N.O. Leguminosae. The plants are also called Indigo-plant and Darling-pea (q.v.). Swainsonia belongs to the same N.O. as Indigofera tinctoria, which furnishes the Indigo of commerce.

1826. J. Atkinson, `Agriculture and Grazing in New South Wales,' p. 24:

"Indigo brushes are not very common; the timber in these is generally white or blackbutted gum; the ground beneath is covered with the native indigo, a very beautiful plant, with a light purple flower."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 140:

"The `darling-pea' or `indigo-plant' is a dreaded plant from the great amount of loss it has inflicted on stockowners. Its effect on sheep is well known; they separate from the flock, wander about listlessly, and are known to the shepherds as ` pea-eaters,' or `indigo-eaters.' When once a sheep takes to eating this plant it seldom or never fattens, and may be said to be lost to its owner. The late Mr. Charles Thorn, of Queensland, placed a lamb which had become an `indigo-eater' in a small paddock, where it refused to eat grass. It, however, ate the indigo plant greedily, and followed Mr. Thorn all over the paddock for some indigo he held in his hand."

Indented Servants, n. same as Assigned (q.v.) Servants.

1810. `History of New South Wales' (1818), p. 352:

"Public Notice. Secretary's Office, Sydney, July 21, 1810. A ship being daily expected to arrive here from England with female convicts, whom it is His Excellency the Governor's intention to distribute among the settlers, as indented servants. . . ."

Ink-plant, n. another name for the "toot," a New Zealand shrub, Coriaria thymifolia, N.O. Coriarieae. Called Ink-plant on account of its juice, which soon turns to black. There is also an European Ink-plant, Coriaria myrtifolia, so that this is only a different species.

Ironbark, n. Early settlers gave this name to several large Eucalypts, from the hardness of their bark, especially to E. leucoxylon, F. v. M., and E. resinifera, Smith. In Queensland it is applied to E. siderophloia, Benth. See also Leguminous Ironbark, and Lemon-scented Ironbark.

1802. G. Barrington, `History of New South Wales,' c. viii. p. 263:

"A species of gum-tree, the bark of which on the trunk is that of the ironbark of Port Jackson."

1830. R. Dawson, `Present State of Australia,' p. 183:

"It was made out of a piece of bark from a tree called ironbark (nearly as hard when dry as an English elm-board)."

1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. ii. p. 45:

"But this gradually changed to an ironbark (Eucalyptus resinifera) and cypress-pine forest."

187. T. Laslett, `Timber and Timber Trees', p. 199:

"The Ironbark-tree (Eucalyptus resinifera) is . . . widely spread over a large part of Australia. . . . A lofty forest tree of moderate circumference. . . . It is believed to have been named as above by some of the earliest Australian settlers on account of the extreme hardness of its bark; but it might with equal reason have been called ironwood. The wood is of a deep red colour, very hard, heavy, strong, extremely rigid, and rather difficult to work . . . used extensively in shipbuilding and engineering works in Australia; and in this country (England) it is employed in the mercantile navy for beams, keelsons, and . . . below the line of flotation."

1883. G. W. Rusden, `History of Australia,' vol. i. p. 77:

"The ironbark (Eucalyptus sideroxylon) became from its durability a synonym for toughness."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. xxvii. p. 248:

"The corrugated stems of the great ironbark trees stood black and columnar."

1893. `The Age,' May 11, p. 7, col. 3, (advt.):

"Monday, 15th May.—Supply in one or more contracts of not less than 20 beams of 400 ironbark or box beams for cattle pits, delivered at any station. Particulars at the office of the Engineer for Existing Lines."

With qualifications. Silver-leaved—

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 65:

"The silver-leaved ironbark (Eucalyptus pulverulentus) was here coming into blossom."

Narrow-leaved—

1847. Ibid. p. 154:

"The narrow-leaved ironbark [grew] on a lighter sandy soil."

Iron hand, a term of Victorian politics. It was a newStanding Order introducing what has since been called theClosure, and was first moved in the Victorian LegislativeAssembly on Jan. 27, 1876.

1876. `Victorian Hansard,' Jan. 20, vol. xxiii. p. 2002:

"They [the Government] have dealt with the Opposition with a velvet glove; but the iron hand is beneath, and they shall feel it."

1884. G. W. Rusden, `History of Australia,' vol. iii. p. 406:

"The cloture, or the `iron hand,' as McCulloch's resolution was called, was adopted in Victoria, for one session."

Ironheart, n. a New Zealand tree, Metrosideros tomentosa, N.O. Myrtaceae; native name, Pohutukawa.

1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 311:

"It was the `downy ironheart'That from the cliffs o'erhanging grew,And o'er the alcove, every part,Such beauteous leaves and blossoms threw."

"Note.—This most lovely tree is common about the northern coasts and cliffs of the North Island and the banks of Lake Tarawera."

Ironwood, n. The name is used of many hard-wooded trees in various parts of the world. The Australian varieties are—

Ironwood (Queensland)—Acacia excelsa, Benth., N.O. Leguminosae;Melaleuca genistifolia, Smith, N.O. Myrtaceae.

Ironwood (North Queensland)—Myrtus gonoclada, F. v. M., N.O. Myrtaceae.

Ironwood (North New South Wales)—Olea paniculata, R.Br., N.O. Jasmineae.

Ironwood (Tasmania)—Notelaea ligustrina, Vent., N.O. Jasmineae.

Scrub Ironwood—Myrtus hillii, Benth., N.O. Myrtaceae.

For Ironwood of New Zealand, see Puriri.

1802. G. Barrington, `History of New South Wales,' c. xii. p. 479:

"A club of iron-wood, which the cannibals had left in the boat."

1823. W. B. Cramp, `Narrative of a Voyage to India,' p. 17:

". . . they have a short club made of iron wood, called a waday, and a scimeter made of the same wood."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 579:

"`Ironwood' and `Heartwood' of Tasmania; `Spurious Olive,' `White Plum' of Gippsland. An exceedingly hard, close-grained wood, used for mallets, sheaves of blocks, turnery, etc. The heartwood yields a very peculiar figure ; it is a very fair substitute for lignum-vitae."

Irriakura, n. an aboriginal name for the tubers of Cyperus rotundus, Linn., N.O. Cyperaceae, adopted by white men in Central Australia.

1896. E. C. Stirling, `Home Expedition in Central Australia,' Anthropology, p. 60:

"Cyperus rotundus. In almost every camp we saw large quantities of the tunicated tubes of this plant, which are generally called `Erriakura' or `Irriakura' by the Arunta natives. . . Even raw they are pleasant to the taste, having an agreeable nutty flavour, which is much improved by the slight roasting."

Ivory-wood, n. an Australian timber, Siphonodon australe, Benth., N.O. Celastrinae.

Ivy, n. a child's name for the ivy-leaf geraniums, especially the double pink-flowered one called Madame Kruse. In Australia the warm climate makes these all evergreens, and they are trained over fences and walls, sometimes to the height of twenty or thirty feet, supplanting the English ivy in this use, and covered with masses of flowers.

Ivy, Native, an Australian plant, Muehlenbeckia adpressa, Meissn., N.O. Polygonaceae; called also Macquarie Harbour Vine, or Grape. The name is widely applied also to the acclimatised Cape Ivy, or German Ivy (Senecio scandens).

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 46:

"`Native Ivy,' Macquarie Harbour Vine or Grape of Tasmania. The currant-like fruits are sub-acid, and were, and perhaps still are, used for tarts, puddings, and preserves; the leaves taste like sorrel."

Ivy, Wild, n. an Australian creeper, Platylobium triangulare, R. Br., N.O. Leguminosae.

Ivy-tree, n. New Zealand tree, genus Panax, N.O. Araliacae; Maori name, Horoeka. It is also called Lancewood (q.v.).

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New' Zealand,' p. 127:

"Horoeka, ivy-tree. an ornamental, slender, and sparingly-branched tree. Wood close-grained and tough."

Jabiru, n. The word comes from Brazil, and was first given there to the large stork Mycteria (Xenorhynchus) Americana. The Australian species is M. australis, Lath. It has the back and neck dark grey, changing on the neck to scarlet. There is a black-necked stork in Australia (Xenorhynchus asiaticus), which is also called the Jabiru.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 194:

"We saw a Tabiroo [sic] (Mycteria)."

1860. G. Bennett, `Gatherings of a Naturalist,' p. 195:

"In October, 1858, I succeeded in purchasing a fine living specimen of the New Holland Jabiru, or Gigantic Crane of the colonists (Mycteria Australis)"

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 323:

"The splendid Australian jabiru (Mycteria Australis), and I had the good fortune to shoot on the wing a specimen of this beautiful variety of the stork family."

Jacana, n. a Brazilian word for a bird of the genus Parra (q.v.). The Australian species is the Comb-crested Jacana, Parra gallinacea, Temm. It is also called the Lotus-bird (q.v.).

Jack in a Box, i.q. Hair-trigger (q.v.).

1854. `The Home Companion,' p. 554:

"When previously mentioning the elegant Stylidium graminifolium (grass-leaved Jack-in-a-box), which may be easily known by its numerous grassy-like radical leaves, and pretty pink flowers, on a long naked stem, we omitted to mention a peculiarity in it, which is said to afford much amusement to the aborigines, who are, generally speaking, fond of, and have a name for, many of the plants common in their own territories. The stigma lies at the apex of a long column, surrounded and concealed by the anthers. This column is exceedingly irritable, and hangs down on one side of the flower, until it is touched, when it suddenly springs up and shifts to the opposite side of the blossom or calyx."

1859. D. Bunce, `Australasiatic Reminiscences,' p. 26:

"Stylidium (native Jack in a box). This genus is remarkable for the singular elasticity of the column stylis, which support the anthers, and which being irritable, will spring up if pricked with a pin, or other little substance, below the joint, before the pollen, a small powder, is shed, throwing itself suddenly over, like a reflex arm, to the opposite side of the flower. Hence the colonial designation of Jack in a box."

Jack the Painter, n. very strong bush-tea, so called from the mark it leaves round the drinker's mouth.

1855. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes,' p. 163:

"Another notorious ration tea of the bush is called Jack the Painter—a very green tea indeed, its viridity evidently produced by a discreet use of the copper drying-pans in its manufacture."

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

"The billy wins, and `Jack the Painter' teaSteams on the hob, from aught like fragrance free."

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

"Special huts had to be provided for them [the sundowners], where they enjoyed eleemosynary rations of mutton, damper, and `Jack the Painter.'"

Jackaroo, n. a name for a Colonial Experience (q.v.), a young man fresh from England, learning squatting; called in New Zealand a Cadet (q.v.). Compare the American "tenderfoot." A verse definition runs:

"To do all sorts and kinds of jobs,Help all the men Jacks, Bills or Bobs,As well as he is able.To be neither boss, overseer, nor man,But a little of all as well as he can,And eat at the master's table."

The word is generally supposed to be a corruption (in imitation of the word Kangaroo) of the words "Johnny Raw." Mr. Meston, in the `Sydney Bulletin,' April 18, 1896, says it comes from the old Brisbane blacks, who called the pied crow shrike (Strepera graculina) "tchaceroo," a gabbling and garrulous bird. They called the German missionaries of 1838 "jackeroo," a gabbler, because they were always talking. Afterwards they applied it to all white men.

1880. W. Senior, `Travel and Trout,' p. 19:

"Jackaroos—the name given to young gentlemen newly arrived from home to gather colonial experiences."

1881. A. C. Grant `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 53:

"The young jackaroo woke early next morning."

[Footnote]: "The name by which young men who go to the Australian colonies to pick up colonial experience are designated."

1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia,' p. 85:

"Of course before starting on their own account to work a station they go into the bush to gain colonial experience, during which process they are known in the colony as `jackaroos.'"

1891. Rolf Boldrewood, `A Sydneyside Saxon,' p. 74:

"We went most of the way by rail and coach, and then a jackaroo met us with a fine pair of horses in a waggonette. I expected to see a first cousin to a kangaroo, when the coachdriver told us, instead of a young gentleman learning squatting."

1894. `Sydney Morning Herald' (date lost):

"`Jack-a-roo' is of the same class of slang; but the unlucky fellow—often gentle and soft-handed—who does the oddwork of a sheep or cattle station, if he finds time and heart for letters to any who love him, probably writes his rue with a difference."

Jackaroo, v. to lead the life of a Jackaroo.

1890. Tasma, `In her Earliest Youth,' p. 152:

"I've seen such a lot of those new chums, one way and another.They knock down all their money at the first go-off, and thenthere's nothing for them to do but to go and jackaroo up inQueensland."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Squatter's Dream,' c. xix. p. 239:

"A year or two more Jackerooing would only mean the consumption of so many more figs of negro-head, in my case."

Jackass-fish, n. another Sydney name for the Morwong (q.v.).

Jackass, Laughing, n. (1) The popular name of an Australian bird, Dacelo gigas, Bodd, the Great Brown Kingfisher of Australia; see Dacelo. To an Australian who has heard the ludicrous note of the bird and seen its comical, half-stupid appearance, the origin of the name seems obvious. It utters a prolonged rollicking laugh, often preceded by an introductory stave resembling the opening passage of a donkey's bray.

But the name has been erroneously derived from the French jacasse, as to which Littre gives "terme populaire. Femme, fille qui parle beaucoup." He adds, that the word jacasse appears to come from jacquot, a name popularly given to parrots and magpies, our "Poll." The verb jacasser means to chatter, said of a magpie. The quotation from Collins (1798) seems to dispose of this suggested French origin, by proving the early use of the name Laughing Jackass. As a matter of fact, the French name had already in 1776 been assigned to the bird, viz. Grand Martin-pecheur de la Nouvelle Guinee. [See Pierre Sonnerat, `Voyage a la Nouvelle Guinee' (Paris, 1776), p. 171.] The only possibility of French origin would be from the sailors of La Perouse. But La Perouse arrived in Botany Bay on January 26, 1788, and found Captain Phillip's ships leaving for Sydney Cove. The intercourse between them was very slight. The French formed a most unfavourable idea of the country, and sailed away on March 10. If from their short intercourse, the English had accepted the word Jackass, would not mention of the fact have been made by Governor Phillip, or Surgeon White, who mention the bird but by a different name (see quotations 1789, 1790), or by Captain Watkin Tench, or Judge Advocate Collins, who both mention the incident of the French ships?

The epithet "laughing" is now often omitted; the bird is generally called only a Jackass, and this is becoming contracted into the simple abbreviation of Jack. A common popular name for it is the Settlers'-Clock. (See quotations—1827, Cunningham; 1846, Haydon; and 1847, Leichhardt.) The aboriginal name of the bird is Kookaburra (q.v.), and by this name it is generally called in Sydney; another spelling is Gogobera.

There is another bird called a Laughing Jackass in New Zealand which is not a Kingfisher, but an Owl, Sceloglaux albifacies, Kaup. (Maori name, Whekau). The New Zealand bird is rare, the Australian bird very common. The so-called Derwent Jackass of Tasmania is a Shrike (Cracticus cinereus, Gould), and is more properly called the Grey Butcher-bird. See Butcher-bird.

1789. Governor Phillip, `Voyage,' p. 287:

Description given with picture, but under name "Great BrownKingsfisher" [sic].

Ibid. p. 156:

Similar bird, with description and picture, under name "SacredKing's Fisher."

1790. J. White, `Voyage to New South Wales,' p. 137:

"We not long after discovered the Great Brown King's Fisher, of which a plate is annexed. This bird has been described by Mr. Latham in his `General Synopsis of Birds,' vol. ii. p. 603.

Ibid. p. 193:

"We this day shot the Sacred King's-Fisher (see plate annexed)."

1798. Collins, `Account of English Colony in New South Wales,' p. 615, (Vocabulary):

"Gi-gan-ne-gine. Bird named by us the Laughing Jackass.Go-con-de—inland name for it."

1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 232:

"The loud and discordant noise of the laughing jackass (or settler's-clock, as he is called), as he takes up his roost on the withered bough of one of our tallest trees, acquaints us that the sun has just dipped behind the hills."

1827. Vigors and Horsfield, `Transactions of Linnaean Society,' vol. xv. p. 204:

"The settlers call this bird the Laughing Jackass. I have also heard it called the Hawkesbury-Clock (clocks being at the period of my residence scarce articles in the colony, there not being one perhaps in the whole Hawkesbury settlement), for it is among the first of the feathered tribes which announce the approach of day."

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

"The laughing jackass, or settler's-clock is an uncouth looking creature of an ashen brown colour . . . This bird is the first to indicate by its note the approach of day, and thus it has received its other name, the settler's clock."

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 234:

"I usually rise when I hear the merry laugh of the laughing- jackass (Dacelo gigantea), which, from its regularity, has not been unaptly named the settlers'-clock."

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. ii. pl. 18:

"Dacelo Gigantea, Leach, Great Brown King Fisher; Laughing Jackass of the Colonists."

1855. W. Howitt, `Two Years in Victoria,' vol. i. p. 58:

"You are startled by a loud, sudden cackling, like flocks of geese, followed by an obstreperous hoo! hoo! ha! ha! of the laughing jackass (Dacelo gigantea) a species of jay."

[Howitt's comparison with the jay is evidently due to the azure iridescent markings on the upper part of the wings, in colour like the blue feathers on the jay.]

1862. F. J. Jobson, `Australia,' c. vi. p. 145:

"The odd medley of cackling, bray, and chuckle notes from the `Laughing Jackass.'"

1872. C. H. Eden, `My Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 18:

"At daylight came a hideous chorus of fiendish laughter, as if the infernal regions had been broken loose—this was the song of another feathered innocent, the laughing jackass—not half a bad sort of fellow when you come to know him, for he kills snakes, and is an infallible sign of the vicinity of fresh-water."

1880. T. W. Nutt, `Palace of Industry,' p. 15:

"Where clock-bird laughed and sweet wildflowers throve."

[Footnote] "The familiar laughing jackass."

1880. Garnet Walch, `Victoria in 1880,' p. 13:

"Dense forests, where the prolonged cacchinations of that cynic of the woods, as A. P. Martin calls the laughing jackass, seemed to mock us for our pains."

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 37:

"The harsh-voiced, big-headed, laughing jackass."

1881. D. Blair, `Cyclopaedia of Australasia,' p. 202:

"The name it vulgarly bears is a corruption of the French wordJacasser, `to chatter,' and the correct form is the `LaughingJacasse.'"

[No. See above.]

1885. `Australasian Printers' Keepsake,' p. 76:

"Magpies chatter, and the jackassLaughs Good-morrow like a Bacchus."

1889. Rev. J. H. Zillmann, `Australian Life,' [telling an old story] p. 155:

"The Archbishop inquired the name of a curious bird which had attracted his attention. `Your grace, we call that the laughing jackass in this country, but I don't know the botanical [sic] name of the bird."

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals, p. 27:

"Few of the birds of Australia have pleased me as much as this curious laughing jackass, though it is both clumsy and unattractive in colour. Far from deserving its name jackass, it is on the contrary very wise and also very courageous. It boldly attacks venomous snakes and large lizards, and is consequently the friend of the colonist."

1890. Tasma, `In her Earliest Youth,' p. 265:

"`There's a jackass—a real laughing jackass on that dead branch. They have such a queer note; like this,, you know—' and upon her companion's startled ears there rang forth, all of a sudden, the most curious, inimitable, guttural, diabolical tremolo it had ever befallen them to hear."

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

"[Close season.] Great Kingfisher or Laughing Jackass.The whole year. all Kingfishers other than the Laughing Jackass.From the 1st day of August to the 20th day of December nextfollowing in each year."

(2) The next quotations refer to the New Zealand bird.

1882. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' p. 122:

"Athene Albifacies, wekau of the Maoris, is known by some up-country settlers as the big owl or laughing jackass."

"The cry of the laughing jackass . . . Why it should share with one of our petrels and the great Dacelo of Australia the trivial name of laughing jackass, we know not; if its cry resembles laughter at all, it is the uncontrollable outburst, the convulsive shout of insanity; we have never been able to trace the faintest approach to mirthful sound in the unearthly yells of this once mysterious night-bird."

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 198:

"Sceloglaux albifacies, Kaup., Laughing Owl; Laughing Jackass of the Colonists."

[The following quotation refers to the Derwent Jackass.]

1880. Mrs. Meredith, `Tasmanian Friends and Foes,' p. 110:

"You have heard of . . . the laughing jackass. We, too, have a `jackass,' a smaller bird, and not in any way remarkable, except for its merry gabbling sort of song, which when several pipe up together, always gives one the idea of a party of very talkative people all chattering against time, and all at once."

Jack-bird, n. a bird of the South Island of New Zealand, Creadion cinereus, Buller. See also Saddle-back and Creadion.

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 23:

"It has become the habit to speak of this bird as the Brown Saddle-back; but this is a misnomer, inasmuch as the absence of the `saddle' is its distinguishing feature. I have accordingly adopted the name of Jack-bird, by which it is known among the settlers in the South Island. Why it should be so called I cannot say, unless this is an adaptation of the native name Tieke, the same word being the equivalent, in the Maori vernacular, of our Jack."

Jack Shay, or Jackshea, n. a tin quart-pot.

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 209:

"Hobbles and Jack Shays hang from the saddle dees."

[Footnote]: "A tin quart-pot, used for boiling water for tea, and contrived so as to hold within it a tin pint-pot."

1890. `The Argus,' June14, p. 4, col. 1:

"Some of his clothes, with his saddle, serve for a pillow; his ration bags are beside his head, and his jackshea (quart-pot) stands by the fire."

Jacky Winter, n. the vernacular name in New South Wales of the Brown Flycatcher, Microeca fascinans, a common little bird about Sydney. The name has been ascribed to the fact that it is a resident species, very common, and that it sings all through the winter, when nearly every other species is silent. See Flycatcher.

Jade, n. See Greenstone.

Jarrah, n. anglicised form of Jerryhl, the native name of a certain species of Eucalyptus, which grows in the south of Western Australia, east and south-east of Perth. In Sir George Grey's Glossary (1840), Djar-rail; Mr. G. F. Moore's (1884), Djarryl. (Eucalyptus marginata, Donn.) The name Bastard-Jarrah is given to E. botryoides, Smith, which bears many other names. It is the Blue-Gum of New South Wales coast-districts, the Bastard-Mahogany of Gippsland and New South Wales, and also Swamp Mahogany in Victoria and New South Wales, and occasionally Woolly-Butt.

1873. A. Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 102:

"It may be that after all the hopes of the West-AustralianMicawbers will be realised in jarrah-wood."

1875. T. Laslett, `Timber and Timber Trees,' p. 189:

"The Jarrah or Mahogany-tree is also found in Western Australia. The wood is red in colour, hard, heavy, close in texture, slightly wavy in the grain, and with occasionally enough figure to give it value for ornamental purposes; it works up quite smoothly and takes a good polish."

188. G. W. Rusden, `History of Australia, vol. i. p. 77:

"The jarrah of Western Australia (Eucalyptus marginata) has a peculiar reputation for its power to defy decay when submerged and exposed to the attacks of the dreaded teredo, and has been largely exported to India."

1888. R. Kipling, `Plain Tales from the Hills,' p. 163

". . . the awful butchery . . . of the Maribyrnong Plate. The walls were colonial ramparts—logs of jarrah spiked into masonry—with wings as strong as Church buttresses."

[Jarrah is not a Victorian, but a West-Australian timber, andimported logs are not used by the V.R.C., but white or red gum.For making "jumps," no logs are "spiked into masonry," and theMaribyrnong Plate is not a "jump-race."]

1892. Gilbert Parker, `Round the Compass in Australia,' p. 415:

"Mr. W. H. Knight, twenty years ago, gave evidence as to the value of the jarrah. . . . It is found that piles driven down in the Swan River were, after being exposed to the action of wind, water, and weather for forty years, as sound and firm as when put into the water. . . . It completely resists the attacks of the white ants, where stringy-bark, blue-gum, white-gum, and black-wood are eaten through, or rendered useless, in from six to twelve years."

1896. `The Times' (weekly edition), Dec. 4, p. 822, col. 1:

"The jarrah, Eucalyptus marginata, stands pre-eminent as the leading timber tree of the Western Australian forests. For constructive work necessitating contact with soil and water jarrahwood has no native equal. A jarrah forest is dull, sombre, and uninteresting to the eye. In first-class forests the trees attain a height of from 90 ft. to 120 ft., with good stems 3 ft. to 5 ft. in diameter. The tree is practically confined to the south-western division of the colony, where the heaviest rains of the season fall. As a rule, jarrah is found either intermixed with the karri tree or in close proximity to it."

Jasmine, Native, n. an Australian plant, Ricinocarpus pinifolius, Desf., N.O. Euphorbiaceae.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 286:

"Native Jasmine. This plant yields abundance of seeds, like small castor oil seeds. They yield an oil."

Jelly-leaf, n. i.q. Queensland Hemp (q.v.).

Jelly-plant, a sea-weed, Eucheuma speciosum, J. Agardh, N.O. Algae.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 28:

"Jelly-plant of Western Australia. This is a remarkable sea-weed of a very gelatinous character [used by] the people of Western Australia for making jelly, blanc-mange, etc. Size and cement can also be made from it. It is cast ashore from deep water."

Jemmy Donnelly, n. a ridiculous name given to three trees, Euroschinus falcatus, Hook, N.O. Anacardiaceae; Myrsine variabilis, R. Br., N.O. Myrsinaceae; and Eucalyptus resinifera, Sm., N.O. Myrtaceae. They are large timber trees, highly valued in Queensland.

Jerrawicke, n. obsolete name for Colonial beer.

1857. J. Askew, `A Voyage to Australia and New Zealand,' p. 272:

"There were always a number of natives roaming about. There might be about 150 in all, of the Newcastle tribe. They were more wretched and filthy, and if possible, uglier than those of Adelaide. . . . All the earnings of the tribe were spent in tobacco and jerrawicke (colonist-made ale)."

1857. Ibid. p. 273:

"A more hideous looking spectacle can hardly be imagined than that presented by these savages around the blazing fire, carousing among jerrawicke and the offal of slaughtered animals.'"

Jew-fish, n. a name applied in New South Wales to two or more different species, Sciaena antarctica, Castln., and Glaucosoma hebraicum, Richards. Sciaena antarctica, Castln., is the King-fish of the Melbourne market. Sciaena is called Dew-fish in Brisbane. It belongs to the family Sciaenidae. The Australian species is distinct from S. aquila, the European "Maigre" or "Meagre," but closely resembles it. Glaucosoma belongs to the Percidae. The Silver Jew-fish of New South Wales is thought to be the same as the Teraglin (q.v.), Otolithus atelodus, Guenth., also of the family Sciaeidae. Tenison Woods (in `Fish and Fisheries of New South Wales,' 1882, p. 34) says the Jew-fish of New South Wales is sometimes Glaucosoma scapulare, Ramsay; and Glaucosoma hebraicum, Richards., is the Jew-fish of Western Australia (a marine fish). Fishes on the American coasts, different from these, are there called Jew-fishes.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 40:

"The water-holes abounded with jew-fish and eels."

Jew-Lizard, n. a large Australian lizard, Amiphibolurus barbatus, Cuv.; called also Bearded Lizard.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 89:

"A small Chlamydophorus (Jew-lizard of the Hunter) was also seen." [The Hunter is a river of New South Wales.]

1890. F. McCoy, `Prodromus of the Natural History of Victoria,' Decade xiii. pl. 121:

"This is commonly called the Jew Lizard by colonists, and is easily distinguished by the beard-like growth of long slender spires round the throat . . . when irritated, it inflates the body to a considerably increased size, and hisses like a snake exciting alarm; but rarely biting."

1893. `The Argus,' July 22, p. 4, col. 5:

"The great Jew-lizards that lay and laughed horribly to themselves in the pungent dust on the untrodden floors."

Jil-crow-a-berry, n. the Anglicised pronunciation and spelling of the aboriginal name for the indigenous Rat-tail Grass, Sporobolus indicus, R. Br.

Jimmy, n. obsolete name for an immigrant, a word which was jocularly changed into Jimmy Grant. The word `immigrant' is as familiar in Australia as `emigrant' in England.

1859. H. Kingsley, `Geoffrey Hamlyn,' p. 211:

"`What are these men that we are going to see?' `Why one,' said Lee, is a young Jimmy—I beg your pardon, sir, an emigrant, the other two are old prisoners.'"

1867. `Cassell's Magazine,' p. 440:

"`I never wanted to leave England,' I have heard an oldVandemonian observe boastfully. `I wasn't like one of these`Jemmy Grants' (cant term for `emigrants'); I could always earna good living; it was the Government as took and sent me out."

[The writers probably used the word immigrant, which, not being familiar to the English compositor, was misprinted emigrant. The "old Vandemonian" must certainly have said immigrant.]

Jimmy Low, n. one of the many names of a Timber-tree, Eucalyptus resinifera, Smith, N.O. Myrtaceae.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 208:

"The `Red,' or `Forest Mahogany,' of the neighbourhood of Sydney. These are bad names, as the wood bears no real resemblance to the true mahogany. Because the product of this tree first brought Australian kino into medical notice, it is often in old books called `Botany Bay Gum-tree.' Other names for it are Red gum, Grey gum, Hickory, and it perpetuates the memory of an individual by being called `Jimmy Low.'"

Jingle, n. a two-wheeled vehicle, like an Irish car, once common in Melbourne, still used in Brisbane and some other towns: so called from the rattle made by it when in motion. The word is not Australian, as is generally supposed; the `Century' gives "a covered two-wheeled car used in the south of Ireland."

1862. Clara Aspinall, `Three Years in Melbourne,' p. 122:

"An omnibus may be chartered at much less cost (gentlemen who have lived in India will persist in calling this vehicle a jingle, which perhaps sounds better); it is a kind of dos-a-dos conveyance, holding three in front and three behind: it has a waterproof top to it supported by four iron rods, and oilskin curtains to draw all round as a protection from the rain and dust."

1863. B. A. Heywood, `Vacation Tour at the Antipodes,' p. 44:

"During my stay in Melbourne I took a jingle, or car, and drove to St. Kilda."

1865. Lady Barker, writing from Melbourne, `Station Life in New Zealand,' p. 12:

"A vehicle which was quite new to me—a sort of light car with a canopy and curtains, holding four, two on each seat, dos-a-dos, and called a jingle—of American parentage, I fancy. One drive in this carriage was quite enough, however."

1869. Marcus Clarke, `Peripatetic Philosopher,' p. 14:

"Some folks prefer to travelOver stones and rocks and gravel;And smile at dust and jolting fit to dislocate each bone.To see 'em driving in a jingle,It would make your senses tingle,For you couldn't put a sixpence 'twixt the wheel and thekerb-stone."

1887. Cassell's 'Picturesque Australasia,' vol. i. p. 64:

"In former days the Melbourne cab was a kind of Irish car, popularly known as a jingle. . . . The jingle has been ousted by the one-horse waggonette."

1887. R. M. Praed, `Longleat of Kooralbyn,' c. iv. p. 30:

"The Premier hailed a passing jingle."

[This was in Brisbane.]

Jinkers, n. a contrivance much used in the bush for moving heavy logs and trunks of trees. It consists of two pairs of wheels, with their axle-trees joined by a long beam, under which the trunks are suspended by chains. Its structure is varied in town for moving wooden houses. Called in England a "whim."

1894. `The Argus,' July 7, p. 8, col. 4:

"A rather novel spectacle was to be seen to-day on the Ballan road in the shape of a five-roomed cottage on jinkers. . . . Mr. Scottney, carrier of Fitzroy, on whose jinkers the removal is being made . . ."

Jirrand, adj. an aboriginal word in the dialect of Botany Bay, signifying "afraid." Ridley, in his vocabulary, spells it jerron, and there are other spellings.

1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 59:

"The native word jirrand (afraid) has become in some measure an adopted child, and may probably puzzle our future Johnsons with its unde derivatur."

1889. Rolf Boldrewood, `Robbery under Arms,' p. 316:

"When I saw the mob there was I didn't see so much to be jerran about, as it was fifty to one in favour of any one that was wanted."

Jo-Jo, n. name used by Melbourne larrikins for a man with a good deal of hair on his face. So called from a hairy-faced Russian "dog man" exhibited in Melbourne about 1880, who was advertised by that name.

Job's Tears. The seeds of Coix lachryma, which are used for necklace-making by the native tribes on the Cape York peninsula, are there called Job's tears.

Joe, Joe-Joe, Joey, interjection, then a verb, now obsolete. Explained in quotations.

1855. W. Howitt, `Two Years in Victoria,' vol. i. p. 400:

"The well-known cry of `Joe! Joe!'—a cry which means one of the myrmidons of Charley Joe, as they familiarly style Mr. [Charles Joseph] La Trobe,—a cry which on all the diggings resounds on all sides on the appearance of any of the hated officials."

1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 135:

"The cry of `Joey' would rise everywhere against them."

[Footnote]: "To `Joey' or `Joe' a person on the diggings, or anywhere else in Australia, is to grossly insult and ridicule him."

1863. B. A. Heywood, `Vacation Tour at the Antipodes,' p. 165:

"In the early days of the Australian diggings `Joe' was the warning word shouted out when the police or gold commissioners were seen approaching, but is now the chaff for new chums."

1865. F. H. Nixon, `Peter Perfume,' p. 58:

"And Joe joed them out, Tom toed them out."

1891. `The Argus,' Dec. 5, p. 13, col. 4:

"`The diggers,' he says, `were up in arms against the Government officials, and whenever a policeman or any other Government servant was seen they raised the cry of "Joe-Joe."' The term was familiar to every man in the fifties. In the earliest days of the diggings proclamations were issued on diverse subjects, but mostly in the direction of curtailing the privileges of the miners. These were signed, `C. Joseph La Trobe,' and became known by the irreverent—not to say flippant —description of `Joes.' By an easy transition, the corruption of the second name of the Governor was applied to his officers, between whom and the spirited diggers no love was lost, and accordingly the appearance of a policeman on a lead was signalled to every tent and hole by the cry of `Joe-Joe.'"

Joey, n. (1) A young kangaroo.

1839. W. H. Leigh, `Reconnoitring Voyages in South Australia' pp. 93-4:

"Here [in Kangaroo Island] is also the wallaba . . . The young of the animal is called by the islanders a joe."

1861. T. McCombie, I`Australian Sketches,' p. 172:

"The young kangaroos are termed joeys. The female carries the latter in her pouch, but when hard pressed by dogs, and likely to be sacrificed, she throws them down, which usually distracts the attention of the pack and affords the mother sufficient time to escape."

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 10:

"Sometimes when the flying doe throws her `joey' from her pouch the dogs turn upon the little one."

1896. F. G. Aflalo, `Natural History of Australia,' p. 29:

"At length the actual fact of the Kangaroo's birth, which is much as that of other mammals, was carefully observed at the London Zoo, and the budding fiction joined the myths that were. It was there proved that the little `joey' is brought into the world in the usual way, and forthwith conveyed to the comfortable receptacle and affixed to the teat by the dam, which held the lifeless-looking little thing tenderly in her cloven lips."

(2) Also slang used for a baby or little child, or even a young animal, such as a little guinea-pig. Compare "kid."

(3) A hewer of wood and drawer of water.

1845. J. A. Moore, `Tasmanian Rhymings,' p. 15:

"He was a `joey,' which, in truth,Means nothing more than that youthWho claims a kangaroo descentIs by that nomenclature meant."

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, `Robbery under Arms,' p. 198:

"I'm not going to be wood-and-water Joey, I can tell ye."

John Dory, or Dorey, n. a fish. This name is applied in New South Wales and Tasmania to Cyttus (Zeus) australis, Richards., family Cyttidae, which is nearly the same as Zeus faber, the "John Dory" of Europe. Others call C. australis the Bastard Dorey (q.v.), and it is also called the Boar-fish (q.v.) and Dollar-fish (q.v.).

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

"`John Dorys' are found in the Mediterranean, on the eastern temperate shores of the Atlantic, on the coasts of Japan and Australia. Six species are known, all of which are highly esteemed for the table. The English name given to one of the European species (Zeus Faber) seems to be partly a corruption of the Gascon `Jau,' which signifies cock, `Dory' being derived from the French Doree, so that the entire name means Gilt-cock. Indeed, in some other localities of southern Europe it bears the name of Gallo. The same species occurs also on the coasts of South Australia and New Zealand."

Johnny-cake. n. The name is of American origin, originally given by the negroes to a cake made of Indian corn (maize). In Australia it is a cake baked on the ashes or cooked in a frying-pan. (See quotations.) The name is used in the United States for a slightly different cake, viz. made with Indian meal and toasted before a fire.

1861. Mrs. Meredith, `Over the Straits,' p. 154:

"The dough-cakes fried in fat, called `Johnny-cakes.'"

1872. C. H. Eden, `My Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 20:

"Johnny-cakes, though they are smaller and very thin, and made in a similar way [sc. to dampers: see Damper]; when eaten hot they are excellent, but if allowed to get cold they become leathery."

1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance of Australia,' p. 3:

"Johnny-cakes are made with nothing but flour, but there is a great art in mixing them. If it is done properly they are about the lightest and nicest sort of bread that can be made; but the efforts of an amateur generally result in a wet heavy pulp that sticks round one's teeth like bird-lime."

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

"Here I, a new chum, could, with flour and water and a pinch of baking-powder, make a sweet and wholesome johnny cake."

1892. Mrs. Russell, `Too Easily Jealous,' p. 273 :

"Bread was not, and existed only in the shape of johnny-cakes —flat scones of flour and water, baked in the hot ashes."

1894. `The Argus,' March 10, p. 4, col. 6:

"It is also useful to make your damper or `Johnny-cake,' which serves you in place of yeast bread. A Johnny-cake is made thus:—Put a couple of handfuls of flour into your dish, with a good pinch of salt and baking soda. Add water till it works to a stiff paste. Divide it into three parts and flatten out into cakes about half an inch thick. Dust a little flour into your frying-pan and put the cake in. Cook it slowly over the fire, taking care it does not burn, and tossing it over again and again. When nearly done stand it against a stick in front of the fire, and let it finish baking while you cook the other two. These, with a piece of wallaby and a billy of tea, are a sweet meal enough after a hard day's work."

Jolly-tail, n. a Tasmanian name for the larger variety of the fish Galaxias attenuatus, Jenyns, and other species of Galaxias called Inanga (q.v.) in New Zealand. Galaxias weedoni is called the Mersey Jolly-tail, and Galaxias atkinsoni, the Pieman Jolly-tail. Pieman and Mersey are two Tasmanian rivers. See Mountain-Trout.

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