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 word Jacasser, 'to chatter,' and the correct form is the 'Laughing Jacasse.'"

[No. See above.]

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

"Magpies chatter, and the jackass Laughs 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 next following 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-Australian Micawbers 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, and imported logs are not used by the V.R.C., but white or red gum. For making "jumps," no logs are "spiked into masonry," and the Maribyrnong 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 old Vandemonian observe boastfully. 'I wasn't like one of these 'Jemmy Grants' (cant term for 'emigrants'); I could always earn a 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 travel Over 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 the kerb-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 youth Who claims a kangaroo descent Is 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.

July, n. a winter month in Australia. See Christmas.

1888. Mrs. M'Cann, 'Poetical Works,' p. 235:

"Scarce has July with frigid visage flown."

Jumbuck, n. aboriginal pigeon-English for sheep. Often used in the bush. The origin of this word was long unknown. It is thus explained by Mr. Meston, in the 'Sydney Bulletin,' April 18, 1896: "The word 'jumbuck' for sheep appears originally as jimba, jombock, dombock, and dumbog. In each case it meant the white mist preceding a shower, to which a flock of sheep bore a strong resemblance. It seemed the only thing the aboriginal mind could compare it to."

1845. C. Griffith, 'Present State and Prospects of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales,' p. 162:

"The following is a specimen of such eloquence: 'You pilmillally jumbuck plenty sulky me, plenty boom, borack gammon,' which being interpreted means, 'If you shoot my sheep I shall be very angry, and will shoot you and no mistake.'"

1855. W. Ridley, 'Transactions of Philological Society,' p. 77:

"When they adopt English words ending in mutes, the blacks drop the mute or add a vowel: thus, jimbugg, a slang name for sheep, they sound jimbu." [It was not English slang but an aboriginal word.]

1893. 'The Argus,' April 8, p. 4, col. 1:

"Mister Charlie, jumbuck go along of grass, blood all there, big dog catch him there, big jumbuck, m'me word, neck torn."

1896. 'The Australasian,' June 6, p. 1085, col. 1:

"Jumbuck (a sheep) has been in use from the earliest days, but its origin is not known."

Jump, to, v. to take possession of a claim (mining) on land, on the ground that a former possessor has abandoned it, or has not fulfilled the conditions of the grant. The word is also used in the United States, but it is very common in Australia. Instead of "you have taken my seat," you have jumped it. So even with a pew. a man in England, to whom was said, "you have jumped my pew," would look astonished, as did that other who was informed, "Excuse me, sir, but you are occupewing my py."

1861. T. McCombie, 'Australian Sketches,' p. 31:

". . . on condition that he occupies it within twenty-four hours: should this rule not be observed, the right of the original holder is lost, and it may be occupied (or 'jumped' as it is termed) by any other person as a deserted claim."

1861. 'Victorian Hansard,' vol. vii. p. 942 (May 21):

"Mr. Wood: Some of the evils spoken of seemed indeed only to exist in the imagination of the hon. and learned gentleman, as, for instance, that of 'jumping,' for which a remedy was already given by the 77th section of the present Act.

"Mr. Ireland: Yes; after the claim is 'jumped.'"

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'The Miner's Right,' p. 37:

"If such work were not commenced within three days, any other miners might summarily take possession of or jump the claim."

ibid. p. 52:

"Let us have the melancholy satisfaction of seeing Gus's pegs, and noting whether they are all en regle. If not, we'll 'jump' him."

Ibid. p. 76:

"In default of such advertisement, for the general benefit, they were liable, according to custom and practice, to have their claim 'jumped,' or taken forcible possession of by any party of miners who could prove that they were concealing the golden reality."

1875. 'Melbourne Spectator,' August 21, p. 189, col. 3:

"Jumping selections . . . is said to be very common now in the Winmera district."

Jumpable, adj. open to another to take. See Jump.

1884. Rolf Boldrewood, Melbourne Memories,' c. xvi. p. 114:

"The heifer station was what would be called in mining parlance 'an abandoned claim' and possibly 'jumpable.'"

Jumper, n. one who jumps a claim. See Jump.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Miner's Right,' c. xii. p. 127:

"Come along, my noble jumper, you've served your injunction."

Jumping-mouse, n. See Hapalote.

June, n. a winter month in Australia. See Christmas.

1886. H. C. Kendall, 'Poems,' p. 132:

"Twenty white-haired Junes have left us Grey with frost and bleak with gale."

Jungle-hen, n. name given to a mound-building bird, Megapodius tumulus, Gould. See also Megapode. The Indian Jungle-fowl is a different bird.

1890. Carl Lumholtz, 'Among Cannibals,' p. 97:

"But what especially gives life and character to these woods are the jungle-hens (mound-builders) . . . The bird is of a brownish hue, with yellow legs and immensely large feet; hence its name Megapodius."

Juniper, Native, n. i.q. Native Currant (q.v.).



K

Kahawai, n. Maori name for the fish Arripis salar, Richards.; called in Australia and New Zealand Salmon (q.v.).

Kahikatea, n. Maori name for a New Zealand tree, Podocarpus dacrydioides, A. Rich., N.O. Coniferae. Also called White-Pine. See Pine. The settlers' pronunciation is often Kackatea. There is a Maori word Kahika, meaning ancient.

1855. Rev. R. Taylor. 'Te Ika a Maui,' p. 439:

"White-pine, Podocarpus dacrydioides—Kahikatea, kahika, korol. This tree is generally called the white-pine, from the colour of its wood. The kahikatea may be considered as nearly the loftiest tree in the New Zealand forest; it often attains a height of little less than two hundred feet, and in that respect rivals the noble kauri, but the general appearance is not very pleasing."

1875. T. Laslett, 'Timber and Trees,' p. 304:

"The kahikatea or kakaterra-tree (Dacrydium excelsum or taxifolium). This majestic and noble-looking tree belongs to the natural order of Taxaceae, more commonly known by the name of Joint Firs. Height 150 to 180 feet, rising sixty feet and upward without a branch."

1876: W. Blair, 'Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. ix. art. 10, p. 160:

"This timber is known in all the provinces, except Otago, by the native name of 'kahikatea'. I think we should adopt it also, not only on account of being more euphonious, but for the reason that so many timbers in other parts of the world are called white-pine."

1873. 'Appendix to Journal of House of Representatives,' vol. iii. G. 7, p. 11:

"On the purchased land stands, or lately stood, a small kahikatea bush. . . . The wood appears to have been of no great money value, but the natives living in Tareha's pa depended upon it for their supply of fire-wood."

1883. J. Hector, 'Handbook of New Zealand, p. 124:

[It is Sir James Hector who assigns the tree to Coniferae, not Taxaceae.]

1888. Cassell's' Picturesque Australasia,' vol. iii. p. 210:

"The White Pine or kahikatea is a very beautiful tree, and droops its dark feathery foliage in a way which recalls the graceful branches of the English elm-tree."

Kahikatoa, n. Maori name for /a/ New Zealand shrub, but no longer used by the settlers.

1883. J. Hector, 'Handbook of New Zealand, p. 126:

"Kahikatoa, tea-tree of Cook. Leptospermum scoparium, Forst., N.O. Myrtaceae."

Kahikomako, n. Maori name [shortened into kaikomako] for a New Zealand timber, Pennantia corymbosa, N.O. Olacineae; called also Ribbonwood (q.v.).

1883. J. Hector, 'Handbook of New Zealand, p. 130:

"Kahikomako, a small, very graceful tree, with white sweet-smelling flowers; height twenty to thirty feet. Wood used by the Maoris for kindling fires by friction."

Kai, n. Maori word for food; used also in the South Sea islands. Kai-kai is an English adaptation for feasting.

1807. J. Savage, 'Some Account of New Zealand,' Vocab. p. 75:

"Kiki . . . food." [The i has the English not the Italian sound.]

1820. 'Grammar and Vocabulary of Language of New Zealand' (Church Missionary Society), p. 157:

"Kai, s. victuals, support, etc.; a. eatable."

1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 29:

"He explained to us that every one would cry very much, and then there would be very much kai-kai or feasting."

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, 'Te Ika a Maui,' p. 95:

"Kai, the general word for food, is not used at Rotorua, because it was the name of a great chief, and the word tami has been substituted for it."

1895. Louis Becke and J. D. Fitzgerald, 'The Maori in Politics,' 'Review of Reviews,' June 20, p. 621:

"We saw some thirty men and women coming towards us, singing in chorus and keeping step to the music. In their hands they carried small baskets woven of raupo reeds, containing kai, or food. This was the 'kai' dance."

Kainga, and Kaika, n. now generally kaik, and pronounced kike, a Maori settlement, village. Kainga is used in the North, and is the original form; Kaika is the South Island use. It is the village for dwelling; the pa is for fighting in.

1820. 'Grammar and Vocabulary of Language of New Zealand' (Church Missionary Society), p. 157:

"Kainga. A place of residence, a home," etc.

1873. Lt.-Colonel St. John, 'Pakeha Rambles through Maori Lands,' p. 164 [Heading of Chapter x.]:

"How we live in our kainga."

1896. 'Otago Witness,' Jan. 23, p. 50, col. 5:

"A cosy-looking kainga located on the bank of a picturesque bend of the river."

Ibid. p. 52, col. 1:

"We steamed on slowly towards Tawhitinui, a small kainga or kaik, as it is called in the South island."

1884. 'Maoriland,' p. 84:

"The drive may be continued from Portobello to the Maori kaik."

Kaio, n. popular corruption in the South Island of New Zealand of Ngaio (q.v.).

Kaitaka, n. Maori word for the best kind of native mat.

1835. W. Yate, 'Account of New Zealand,' p. 157:

"Requiring from three to four months' close sitting to complete one of their kaitakas—the finest sort of mat which they make. This garment has a very silky appearance."

1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 244:

"Pukaro ended by flinging over my shoulders a very handsome kaitaka mat, which he had been wearing while he spoke."

1881. J. L. Campbell, 'Poenamo,' p. 205:

"Highly prized and beautiful kaitaka mats."

Kaiwhiria, n. Maori name for New Zealand tree, Hedycarya dentata, Forst., N.O. Monimiaceae. Porokaiwhiri is the fuller name of the tree.

1883. /J./ Hector, 'Handbook of New Zealand,' p. 129

"Kaiwhiria, a small evergreen tree, twenty to thirty feet high; the wood is finely marked and suitable for veneering."

Kaka, n. the Maori name for a parrot. The word is imitative of a parrot's cry. It is now always used to denote the Brown Parrot of New Zealand, Nestor meridionalis, Gmel.

1835. W. Yate, 'Account of New Zealand,' p. 54:

"Kaka—a bird of the parrot kind; much larger than any other New Zealand parrot."

1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 259:

"The kaka, a large russet parrot, of excellent flavour, and very abundant in many places."

1851. Mrs. Wilson, 'New Zealand,' p. 40:

"The bright red feathers from under the wing of the kaka or large parrot."

1854. W. Golder, 'Pigeons' Parliament,' [Notes] p. 79:

"The kaka is a kind of parrot of a reddish grey colour, and is easily tamed when taken young."

1866. Lady Barker, 'Station Life in New Zealand,' p. 93:

"The hoarse croak of the ka-ka, as it alighted almost at our feet, and prepared, quite careless of our vicinity, to tear up the loose soil at the root of a tall tree, in search of grubs."

1869. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia,' (Supplement):

"Nestor hypopolius, ka-ka parrot."

1884. T. Bracken, 'Lays of Maori,' p. 38:

"I heard mocking kakas wail and cry above thy corse."

1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 150:

"Nestor meridionalis, kaka parrot."

Ibid. p. 158:

"Sprightly in its actions, eminently social, and more noisy than any other inhabitant of the woods, the kaka holds a prominent place among our native birds."

Kaka-bill, n. a New Zealand plant, the Clianthus (q.v.), so called from the supposed resemblance of the flower to the bill of the Kaka (q.v.). Called also Parrot-bill, Glory-Pea, and Kowhai (q.v.).

1842. W. R. Wade, 'Journey in New Zealand,' [Hobart Town]. p. 196:

"Kowai ngutukaka [parrot-bill kowai]; the most elegant flowering shrub of the country."

1892. 'Otago Witness,' Nov. 24, 'Native Trees':

"A plantation of a shrub which is in great demand in England and on the Continent, and is greatly neglected here—the Clianthus puniceus, or scarlet glory pea of New Zealand, locally known as kaka beak."

Kakapo, n. Maori name for the Night-parrot, Stringops habroptilus, Gray. Called also Owl-parrot. See Kaka. The syllable po is Maori for night. Compare Katipo (q.v.).

1869. J. Gould, 'Birds of Australia' (Supplement):

"Strigops habroptilus, G. R. Gray, Kakapo, native name."

1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 149:

"Stringops, owl-parrot—ground-parrot of the colonists."

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

"Although possessing large wings, it is flightless, its breast-muscles being so small as to be practically useless. Its habits are nocturnal, and it has a ring of feathers arranged round the eye, giving it a curious resemblance to an owl, whence the name owl-parrot is often applied to it."

1893. A. R. Wallace, 'Australasia,' vol. i. p. 445:

"Another remarkable bird is the owl parrot (Stringops habroptilus) of a greenish colour, and with a circle of feathers round the eye as in the owl. It is nocturnal in its habits, lives in holes in the ground under tree-roots or rocks."

1896. 'Otago Witness,' June 11, p. 53:

"The Kakapo is one of our most unique birds."

Kakariki, n. Maori name for a green Parrakeet. There are two species, Platycercus novae zelandiae, Sparrm., and P. auriceps, Kuhl. See Parrakeet. The word kakariki means literally little parrot, kaka (q.v.) and iki (little), the r is intrusive. It is applied also to a green lizard. In Maori it becomes later an adjective, meaning 'green.'

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, 'Te Ika a Maui,' p. 404:

"The Kakariki . . . (platycercus novae zeal.) is a pretty light green parrot with a band of red or yellow over the upper beak and under the throat. This elegant little bird is about the size of a small thrush."

1894. 'Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,' vol. xxvii. p. 95 [Note]:

"The name Kakarika (indicative of colour) is applied alike to the green lizard and to the green Parrakeet of our woods."

Kamin, n. aboriginal word, explained in quotation. It is probably local.

1890. C. Lumholtz, 'Among Cannibals,' p. 89:

"If he [the Australian black] has to climb a high tree, he first goes into the scrub to fetch a piece of the Australian calamus (Calamus australis), which he partly bites, partly breaks off; he first bites on one side and breaks it down, then on the other side and breaks it upwards—one, two, three, and this tough whip is severed. At one end of it he makes a knot, the other he leaves it as it is. This implement, which is usually from sixteen to eighteen feet long, is called a kamin."

Kanae, n. (trisyll.) Maori name for a fish of New Zealand, the Silver-Mullet, Mugil perusii or argenteus.

1820. 'Grammar and Vocabulary of Language of New Zealand' (C.M.S.), p. 158:

"Kanae, s. The mullet fish."

1888. Order in Council, New Zealand, Jan. 10, 'Regulations under the Fisheries Conservation Act':

"The months of December, January, and February in each year are here prescribed a close season for the fish of the species of the mugil known as mullet or kanae."

Kanaka, n. and adj. a labourer from the South Sea Islands, working in Queensland sugar-plantations. The word is Hawaiian (Sandwich Islands). The kindred words are given in the following extract from

Fornander's Polynesian Race' (1885), vol. iii. p. 154:

"Kanaka, s. Hawaiian, man, human, mankind, a common man in distinction from chiefs. Samoan, New Zealand [sc. Maori], Tongan, tangata, man. Tahitian, taata, man."

In the original word the accent is on the first syllable, which accent Mr. Rudyard Kipling preserves (see quotation, 1893), though he has changed the word in his reprint of the poem in 'The Seven Seas'; but the usual pronunciation in Australia is to accent the second syllable.

1794. J. J. Jarves, 'History of Hawaiian Islands,' printed at Honolulu (1872), p. 82:

"[On 21st Feb. 1794.] A salute was then fired, and the natives shouted, 'Kanaka no Beritane'—we are men of Britain."

1852. A. Miller, 'Narrative of United States Exploring Expedition,' c. ii. p. 142:

"On Monday (Nov. 16, 1840) our gentlemen formed themselves into two parties, and started on horseback for their journey. One party consisted of Messrs. Reade, Rich, and Wall, with eight kanakas and two guides."

1873. A. Trollope, 'Australia and New Zealand,' c. viii. p. 133:

"Queensland at present is supplying itself with labour from the South Sea Islands, and the men employed are called Polynesians, or canakers, or islanders."

1885. H. Finch-Hatton, 'Advance Australia, p. 162:

"The word 'kanaka' is really a Maori word, signifying a man, but in Australia it has come to be applied exclusively to the inhabitants of the South Sea Islands."

1885. R. M. Praed, 'Head Station,' p. 9:

"The kanaka reverences women and adores children. He is loyal in heart, affectionate of disposition, and domestic in his habits."

1888. H. S. Cooper, 'The Islands of the Pacific,' p. 5:

"The kanakas, who at present populate Hawaii, are, as a rule, well made and intelligent. That there is a cross of the Malay and Indian blood in them few can doubt."

1890. C. Lumholtz, 'Among Cannibals,' p. 64:

"Natives of the South Sea Islands, who in Australia are called kanakas—a capable and intelligent race, especially to this kind of work [on plantations], for they are strong, and endure the tropical heat far better than the whites."

1892. Gilbert Parker, 'Round the Compass in Australia,' p. 298:

"Thus, it is maintained by the planters, the kanaka, necessary as he is to the conditions of North Queensland, opens up avenues of skilled labour for the European, and makes population and commerce possible where otherwise there would be complete stagnation."

2892. 'The Times,' Dec. 28:

"The principal open-air labour of the sugar plantations is furnished by kanakas, who are the native inhabitants of certain groups of South Sea Islands not at present under the protection of any European flag."

1893. R. L. Stevenson, 'Island Night's Entertainments,' p. 41:

"What we want is a man-of-war—a German, if we could—they know how to manage kanakas."

1893. Rudyard Kipling, 'Banjo Song':

"We've shouted on seven-ounce nuggets, We've starved on a kanaka's pay."

1893. C. H. Pearson, 'National Life and Character,' p.32:

"In Australasia . . . the Maori, the Kanaka, and the Papuan are dying out. We cannot close our eyes to the fact that certain weak races—even when, like the kanaka, they possess some very high qualities—seem to wither away at mere contact with the European. . . . The kanakas (among whom we may include the Maories)."

Kangaroo, n. (1) an aboriginal word. See Marsupial.

(a) The Origin of the Name. The name was first obtained in 1770, while H.M.S. Endeavour lay beached at the Endeavour River, where Cooktown, Queensland, now is. The name first appears in print in 1773, in the book brought out by the relatives of Mr. Parkinson, who was draughtsman to Banks the naturalist, and who had died on the voyage. The object of this book was to anticipate the official account of Cook's Voyage by Hawkesworth, which appeared later in the same year. It is now known that Hawkesworth's book was like a rope twisted of four strands, viz. Cook's journal, the diaries of the two naturalists, Banks and Solander, and quartum quid, the Johnsonian pomposity of Dr. Hawkesworth. Cook's journal was published in 1893, edited by Captain Wharton, hydrographer to the Admiralty; Banks's journal, in 1896, edited by Sir J. D. Hooker. Solander's journal has never been printed.

When Englishmen next came to Australia in 1788, it was found that the word Kangaroo was not known to the natives round Port Jackson, distant 1500 miles to the South of Cooktown. In fact, it was thought by them to be an English word. (See quotation, Tench, 1789.) It is a question whether the word has belonged to any aboriginal vocabulary since. "Capt. Philip P. King, the explorer, who visited that locality [sc. Endeavour River] forty-nine years after Cook, relates in his 'Narrative of the Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia,' that he found the word kangaroo unknown to the tribe he met there, though in other particulars the vocabulary he compiled agrees very well with Captain Cook's." (Curr's 'Australian Race,' vol. i. p. 27.) In the fourth volume of Curr's book a conspectus is given of the words used in different parts of Australia for various objects. In the list of names for this animal there are a few that are not far from Kangaroo, but some inquirers suspect the accuracy of the list, or fancy that the natives obtained the words sounding like Kangaroo from English. It may be assumed that the word is not now in use as an aboriginal word. Has it, then, disappeared? or was it an original mistake on the part of Banks or Cook ?

The theory of a mistake has obtained widely. It has figured in print, and finds a place in at least one dictionary. Several correspondents have written that the word Kangaroo meant "I don't understand," and that Banks mistook this for a name. This is quite possible, but at least some proof is needed, as for instance the actual words in the aboriginal language that could be twisted into this meaning. To find these words, and to hear their true sound, would test how near the explanation hits the mark. Banks was a very careful observer, and he specially notes the precautions he took to avoid any mistake in accepting native words. Moreover, according to Surgeon Anderson, the aborigines of Van Diemen's Land described the animal by the name of Kangaroo. (See quotation, 1787.)

On the other hand, it must be remembered that it is an ascertained fact that the aborigines taboo a word on the death of any one bearing that word as a proper name. (See quotation under Nobbler, 1880.) If, therefore, after Cook's visit, some man called Kangaroo died, the whole tribe would expunge Kangaroo from its vocabulary. There is, however, some evidence that the word was much later in use in Western Australia. (See quotation, 1835.)

It is now asserted that the word is in use again at the very part of Queensland where the Endeavour was beached. Lumholtz, in his 'Amongst Cannibals' (p. 311), gives it in his aboriginal vocabulary. Mr. De Vis, of the Brisbane Museum, in his paper before the Geographical Society at Brisbane (1894), says that "in point of fact the word 'kangaroo' is the normal equivalent for kangaroo at the Endeavour River; and not only so, it is almost the type-form of a group of variations in use over a large part of Australia." It is curiously hard to procure satisfactory evidence as to the fact. Mr. De Vis says that his first statement was "made on the authority of a private correspondent; "but another correspondent writes from Cooktown, that the blacks there have taken Kangaroo from English. Inquiries inserted in each of the Cooktown newspapers have produced no result. Mr. De Vis' second argument as to the type-form seems much stronger. A spoken language, unwritten, unprinted, must inevitably change, and change rapidly. A word current in 1770 would change rather than disappear, and the root consonants would remain. The letters ng together, followed by r, occur in the proportion of one in thirteen, of the names for the animal tabulated by Curr.

It is a difficult matter on which to speak decidedly, but probably no great mistake was made, and the word received was a genuine name of the animal.

See further the quotations, 1896.

(b) The Plural of the Word.

There seems to be considerable doubt as to the plural of the word, whether it should take s like most English words, or remain unchanged like sheep, deer. In two consecutive pages of one book the two plurals are used. The general use is the plural in s. See 1793 Hunter, 1845 Balfour, and 1880 Senior; sportsmen frequently use the form Kangaroo.

[Since 1888 a kangaroo has been the design on the one-shilling postage stamp of New South Wales.]

1815. 'History of New South Wales,' (1818) PP. 460-461:

"Throughout the general course of the journey, kangaroos, emus, ducks, etc. were seen in numbers." "Mr. Evans saw the kangaroo in immense flocks."

1830. R. Dawson, 'Present State of Australia,' p. 49:

"The kangaroos are too subtle and shy for us to get near."

1846. G. H. Haydon, 'Five Years in Australia Felix,' p. 125:

"In the afternoon we saw some kangaroos and wallaby, but did not succeed in killing any."

1884. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Melbourne Memories,' c. iii. p. 23:

"Though kangaroo were plentiful, they were not overwhelming to number."

(c) Kangaroo in French.

1777. Buffon, 'Supplement a l'Histoire Naturelle,' tom. iv. 'Table des Matieres':

"Kanguros, espece de grosse Gerboise qui se trouve dans les terres australes de la Nouvelle Hollande."

1800. J. J. Labillardiere, 'Voyage a la recherche de La Perouse,' tom. i. p. 134: [Under date April 24, 1792.]

"Un de nos chasseurs trouva un jeune kangourou sur les bords de la mer."

1880. H. de Charency, 'Recherches sur les Dialectes Tasmaniens,' p. 21:

"Kangourou. Ce mot semble d'origine non Australienne, comme on l'a soutenu, mais bien Tasmanienne."

1882. Littre, 'Dictionnaire de la Langue Francaise' (s.v.):

"Kanguroo ou kangarou. On ecrit aussi kangarou et kangourou."

1882. A. Daudet, 'Jack,' p. 131:

Il regardait les kangaroos dresses sur leurs pattes, si longues qu'elles ont l'agilite et l'elan d'une paire d'ailes."

1890. Oscar Comettant [Title]:

"Au Pays des Kangourous."

(d) Kangaroo in German—Kaenguruh:

1892. R. V. Lendenfeld, 'Australische Reise,' p. 46:

"Die Kaenguruh hoben in dem Augenblick, als sie das Geheul hoerten, die Koepfe hoch and witterten, blickten and loosten in alle Richtungen."

Notice that both in French and German the u sound of the middle syllable is preserved and not changed as in English to a.

(e) The species.

The name Kangaroo is applied to the following larger species of the genus Macropus, the remaining species being called Wallabies—

Antilopine Kangaroo— Macropus antilopinus, Gould.

Great Grey K., or Forester— M. giganteus, Zimm.

Great Red K.— M. rufus, Desm.

Isabelline K.— M. isabellinus, Gould.

Owen's K.— M. magnus, Owen.

Wallaroo, or Euro— M. robustus, Gould.

The name Kangaroo is also applied to certain other species of Marsupials belonging to the genus Macropus, but with a qualifying adjective, such as Dorca-, Tree-, Rat-, Musk-, etc.; and it is applied to species of the genera Dorcopsis, Dendrolagus, Bettongia, and Hypsiprymnodon. The Brush-Kangaroo (q.v.) is another name for the Wallaby (q.v.), and the Rat-Kangaroo is the stricter scientific appellation of Kangaroo-Rat (q.v.). The Banded-Kangaroo is a Banded-Wallaby (see Lagostrophus). See also Dorca-Kangaroo, Tree-Kangaroo, Musk-Kangaroo, Dorcopsis, Dendrolagus, Bettongia, Hypsiprymnodon, Rock-Wallaby, Paddy-melon, Forester, Old Man,, Joey, and Boomah.

(f) The Use of the Word.

1770. 'Capt. Cook's Journal' (edition Wharton, 1893), p. 244:

May 1st. An animal which must feed upon grass, and which, we judge, could not be less than a deer."

[p. 280]: "June 23rd. One of the men saw an animal something less than a greyhound; it was of a mouse colour, very slender made, and swift of foot."

[p. 294]: August 4th. "The animals which I have before mentioned, called by the Natives Kangooroo or Kanguru." [At Endeavour River, Queensland.]

1770. Joseph Banks, 'Journal' (edition Hooker, 1896), p. 287:

"July 14.—Our second Lieutenant had the good fortune to kill the animal that had so long been the subject of our speculations. To compare it to any European animal would be impossible, as it has not the least resemblance to any one that I have seen. Its forelegs are extremely short, and of no use to 1t in walking; its hind again as disproportionally long; with these it hops seven or eight feet at a time, in the same manner as the jerboa, to which animal indeed it bears much resemblance, except in size, this being in weight 38 lbs., and the jerboa no larger than a common rat."

Ibid. p. 301:

"August 26.—Quadrupeds we saw but few, and were able to catch but few of those we did see. The largest was called by the natives kangooroo; it is different from any European, and, indeed, any animal I have heard or read of, except the jerboa of Egypt, which is not larger than a rat, while this is as large as a middling lamb. The largest we shot weighed 84 lbs. It may, however, be easily known from all other animals by the singular property of running, or rather hopping, upon only its hinder legs, carrying its fore-feet close to its breast. In this manner it hops so fast that in the rocky bad ground where it is commonly found, it easily beat my greyhound, who though he was fairly started at several, killed only one, and that quite a young one."

1773. Sydney Parkinson, 'Journal of a Voyage,' p. 149:

"Kangooroo, the leaping quadruped." [A description given at p. 145.]

1773. J. Hawkesworth, 'Voyages,' vol. iii. p. 577:

"July 14, 1770. Mr. Gore, who went out this day with his gun, had the good fortune to kill one of the animals which had been so much the subject of our speculation. An idea of it will best be conceived by the cut, plate xx., without which the most accurate verbal description would answer very little purpose, as it has not similitude enough to any animal already known to admit of illustration by reference. In form it is most like the gerbua, which it also resembles in its motion, as has been observed already, for it greatly differs in size, the gerbua not being larger than a common rat, and this animal, when full grown, being as big as a sheep: this individual was a young one, much under its full growth, weighing only thirty-eight pounds. The head, neck, and shoulders are very small in proportion to the other parts of the body; the tail is nearly as long as the body, thick near the rump, and tapering towards the end: the fore-legs of this individual were only eight inches long, and the hind-legs two-and-twenty: its progress is by successive leaps or hops, of a great length, in an erect posture; the fore-legs are kept bent close to the breast, and seemed to be of use only for digging: the skin is covered with a short fur, of a dark mouse or grey colour, excepting the head and ears, which bear a slight resemblance to those of a hare. In form it is most like the gerbua. This animal is called by the natives 'kangaroo.'" [This account, it will be seen, is based on the notes of Banks.]

1774. Oliver Goldsmith, 'Animated Nature,' Book VII. c. xvi., The Gerbua,' [in four-vol. ed., vol. iii. p. 30]:

"But of all animals of this kind, that which was first discovered and described by Mr. Banks is the most extraordinary. He calls it the kanguroo; and though from its general outline and the most striking peculiarities of its figure it greatly resembles the gerbua, yet it entirely differs, if we consider its size, or those minute distinctions which direct the makers of systems in assorting the general ranks of nature. The largest of the gerbua kind which are to be found in the ancient continent do not exceed the size of a rabbit. The kanguroo of New Holland, where it is only to be found, is often known to weigh above sixty pounds, and must consequently be as large as a sheep. Although the skin of that which was stuffed and brought home by Mr. Banks was not much above the size of a hare, yet it was greatly superior to any of the gerbua kind that have been hitherto known, and very different in many particulars. The snout of the gerbua, as has been said, is short and round, that of the discovered animal long and slender; the teeth also entirely differ, for as the gerbua has but two cutting teeth in each jaw, making four in all, this animal, besides its cutting teeth, has four canial teeth also; but what makes a more striking peculiarity, is the formation of its lower jaw, which, as the ingenious discoverer supposes, is divided into two parts which open and shut like a pair of scissors, and cut grass, probably this animal's principal food. The head, neck, and shoulders are very small in proportion to the other parts of the body; the tail is nearly as long as the body; thick near the rump and tapering towards the head and ears, which bear a slight resemblance to those of the hare. We are not told, however, from the formation of its stomach to what class of quadrupeds it belongs: from its eating grass, which it has been seen to do, one would be apt to rank it among the ruminating animals; but from the canial teeth which it is found to have, we may on the other hand suppose it to bear some relation to the carnivorous. Upon the whole, however, it can be classed with none more properly than with the animals of the gerbua kind, as its hind-legs are so much longer than the fore; it moves also precisely in the same manner, taking great bounds of ten or twelve feet at a time, and thus sometimes escaping the fleetest greyhound, with which Mr. Banks pursued it. One of them that was killed proved to be good food; but a second, which weighed eighty-four pounds, and was not yet come to its full growth, was found to be much inferior."

1787, Surgeon Anderson, quoted by W. Eden, in 'History of New Holland' (second edition), p. 71:

"However, we must have a far more intimate acquaintance with the languages spoken here [Van Diemen's Land] and in the more northern parts of New Holland, before we can pronounce that they are totally different; nay, we have good grounds for the opposite opinion; for we found that the animal called kangaroo at Endeavour River was known under the same name here."

1781. T. Pennant, 'History of Quadrupeds,' vol. i. p. 306:

No. 184. [A Scientific Description of the Kangaroo.]

1789. Governor Phillip, 'Voyage':

[p. 106]: "The kangaroo."

[p. 168]: "Skeleton of the head of the kangaroo."

[At each of these places there is a description and a picture. Under each picture the name is spelt "Kangooroo." At p. 289 there is a further note on the kanguroo. In the text at p. 149 the spelling " Kangooroo " is adopted.]

Ibid. p. 104:

"The kanguroo, though it resembles the jerboa in the peculiarity of using only the hinder legs in progression, does not belong to that genus."

Ibid, p. 168:

"Since stating the dimensions of the kanguroo, in page 106, Lord Sydney has received from Governor Phillip a male of a much larger size. . . . Lieutenant Shortland describes them as feeding in herds of about thirty or forty, and assures us that one is always observed to be apparently upon the watch at a distance from the rest."

1789. Watkin Tench, 'Account of the Settlement of Port Jackson,' p. 171:

"Kangaroo was a name unknown to them [the aborigines of Port Jackson] for any animal, until we introduced it. When I showed Colbee [an aboriginal] the cows brought out in the Gorgon he asked me if they were kangaroos."

1793. Governor Hunter, 'Voyage,' p. 66:

"The animal described in the voyage of the Endeavour, called the kangaroo (but by the natives patagorang), we found in great numbers."

Ibid. p. 568:

"I had a kanguroo on board, which I had directions to carry to Lord Grenville, as a present for his Majesty.—Nov. 26, 1791." [There is no statement whether the animal reached England.]

Ibid. p. 402:

"In rowing up this branch, we saw a flock of about thirty kangaroos or paderong, but they were only visible during their leaps, as the very long grass hid them from our view."

1809. G. Shaw, 'Zoological Lectures,' vol. i. p. 94:

"The genus Macropus or kangaroo . . . one of the most elegant as well as curious animals discovered in modern times." [Under the picture and in list of contents: Kanguroo.]

1814. M. Flinders, 'Voyage to Terra Australis,' Introd. p. lxiii:

"An animal found upon one of the islands is described [by Dampier, 'Voyage to New Holland,' vol. iii. p. 123] as 'a sort of raccoon, different from that of the West Indies, chiefly as to the legs; for these have very short fore legs; but go jumping upon them' [not upon the short fore, but the long hind legs, it is to be presumed] 'as the others do; and like them are very good meat.' This appears to have been the small kangaroo, since found upon the islands which form the road; and if so, this description is probably the first ever made of that singular animal" [though without the name].

1820. W. C. Wentworth, 'Description of New South Wales,' p. 57:

"Coursing the kangaroo and emu forms the principal amusement of the sporting part of the colonists.

(p. 68): The colonists generally pursue this animal [kangaroo] at full speed on horseback, and frequently manage, notwithstanding its extraordinary swiftness, to be up at the death."

1833. Charles Lamb, 'Essays of Elia' [edition 1895], p. 151, 'Distant Correspondents':

"The kangaroos—your Aborigines—do they keep their primitive simplicity un-Europe-tainted, with those little short fore puds, looking like a lesson framed by nature to the pick-pocket! Marry, for diving into fobs they are rather lamely provided a priori; but if the hue and cry were once up, they would show as fair a pair of hind-shifters as the expertest loco motor in the colony."

1833. C. Sturt, 'Southern Australia,' vol. I. c. iii. p. 106:

"Those that were noticed were made of the red kangaroo-skin."

1834. L. E. Threlkeld, 'Australian Grammar of the Language spoken by the Aborigines, at Hunter's River,' p. 87:

"Kong-go-rong, The Emu, from the noise it makes, and likely the origin of the barbarism, kangaroo, used by the English, as the name of an animal, called Mo-a-ne."

1835. T. B. Wilson, 'Narrative of a Voyage round the World, etc.' p. 212:

"They [natives of the Darling Range, W.A.] distinctly pronounced 'kangaroo' without having heard any of us utter that sound: they also called it waroo, but whether they distinguished 'kangaroo' (so called by us, and also by them) from the smaller kind, named 'wallabi,' and by them 'waroo,' we could not form any just conclusion."

1845. J. O. Balfour, 'Sketch of New South Wales,' p. 23:

"Kangaroos are of six different species, viz. the forester, the flyer, the wallaby, the wallaroo, the kangaroo-rat, and the kangaroo-mouse." [This is of course merely a popular classification.]

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

"A kangaroo, like all his race, Of agile form and placid face."

1861. W. M. Thackeray, 'Roundabout Papers', p.83:

"The fox has brought his brush, and the cock has brought his comb, and the elephant has brought his trunk and the kangaroo has brought his bag, and the condor his old white wig and black satin hood."

1880. W. Senior, 'Travel and Trout,' p. 8:

"To return to the marsupials. I have been assured that the kangaroos come first and eat off the grass; that the wallabies, following, grub up the roots."

1881. A. C. Grant, 'Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 114:

"Sometimes a kangaroo would come down with measured thud, thud, and drink, and then return without noticing the human beings."

1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' p. 118:

"According to the traditions of the bush—not always reliable—the name of kangaroo was given under a misconception. An aborigine being asked by one of the early discoverers the name of the animal, replied, 'Kangaroo' ('I don't know'), and in this confession of ignorance or misapprehension the name originated. It seems absurd to suppose that any black hunter was really ignorant of the name of an animal which once represented the national wealth of Australians as the merino does to-day."

[The tradition is not quite so ridiculous, if the answer meant—"I don't know what you mean,—I don't understand you." See above.]

1891. 'Guide Zoological Gardens, Melbourne':

"In this enclosure is a wooden model of a kangaroo of ancient times. This is copied from a restoration by Professor McCoy, who was enabled to represent it from fossil remains which have been unearthed at various places in Australia."

1896. E. Meston, 'Sydney Bulletin,' April 18:

"The origin of the word 'kangaroo' was published by me six years ago. Captain Cook got it from the Endeavor River blacks, who pronounce it to-day exactly as it is spelled in the great navigator's journal, but they use it now only for the big toe. Either the blacks in Cook's time called the kangaroo 'big toe' for a nick-name, as the American Indians speak of the 'big horn,' or the man who asked the name of the animal was holding it by the hind foot, and got the name of the long toe, the black believing that was the part to which the question referred."

1896. Rev. J. Mathew, Private Letter, Aug. 31:

"Most names of animals in the Australian dialects refer to their appearance, and the usual synthesis is noun + adjective; the word may be worn down at either end, and the meaning lost to the native mind.

"A number of the distinct names for kangaroo show a relation to words meaning respectively nose, leg, big, long, either with noun and adjective to combination or one or other omitted.

"The word kangaroo is probably analysable into ka or kang, nose (or head), and goora, long, both words or local equivalents being widely current."

(2) Wild young cattle (a special use)—

1827. P. Cunningham, 'Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 290:

"A stockyard under six feet high will be leaped by some of these kangaroos (as we term them) with the most perfect ease, and it requires to be as stout as it is high to resist their rushes against it."

(3) Used playfully, and as a nickname for persons and things Australian. An Australian boy at an English school is frequently called "Kangaroo." It is a Stock Exchange nickname for shares in Western Australian gold-mining companies.

1896. 'Nineteenth Century' (Nov.), p. 711:

"To the 80,000,000 Westralian mining shares now in existence the Stock Exchange has long since conceded a special 'market'; and it has even conferred upon these stocks a nickname—the surest indication of importance and popularity. And that 'Kangaroos,' as they were fondly called, could boast of importance and popularity nobody would dare to gainsay."

(4) A kind of chair, apparently from the shape.

1834. Miss Edgeworth, 'Helen,' c. xvi. ('Century'):

"It was neither a lounger nor a dormeuse, nor a Cooper, nor a Nelson, nor a Kangaroo: a chair without a name would never do; in all things fashionable a name is more than half. Such a happy name as Kangaroo Lady Cecilia despaired of finding."

Kangarooade, n. a Kangaroo hunt; nonce word. See quotation.

1863. M. K. Beveridge, 'Gatherings among the Gum Trees,' p. 86:

"The Kangarooade—in three Spirts." [Title of a poem.]

Kangaroo-Apple, n. an Australian and Tasmanian fruit, Solanum aviculare, Forst., N.O. Solanaceae. The name is also applied to S. vescum, called the Gunyang (q.v.). In New Zealand, the fruit is called Poroporo (q.v.).

1834. Ross, 'Van Diemen's Land Annual, p. 133:

'Solanum laciniatum, the kangaroo-apple, resembling the apple of a potato; when so ripe as to split, it has a mealy sub-acid taste."

1846. G. H. Haydon, 'Five Years in Australia Felix,' p. 85:

"The kangaroo-apple (Solanum laciniatum) is a fine shrub found in many parts of the country, bearing a pretty blue flower and a fruit rather unpleasant to the taste, although frequently eaten by the natives, and also by Europeans."

1848. W. Westgarth, 'Australia Felix,' p. 132:

"The kangaroo-apple comes from a bush or small tree bearing blue blossoms, which are succeeded by apples like those of the potato. They have a sweetish flavour, and when ripe may be boiled and eaten, but are not greatly prized."

1857. F. R. Nixon (Bishop), 'Cruise of Beacon,' p. 28:

"Of berries and fruits of which they partook, the principal were those of Solanum laciniatum, or kangaroo-apple, when dead ripe."

1877. F. v. Mueller, 'Botanic Teachings,' p. 105:

"Solanum aviculare, on which our colonists have very inappropriately bestowed the name Kangaroo-apple, while in literal scientific translation it ought to be called Bird's Nightshade, because Captain Cook's companions observed in New Zealand that birds were feeding on the berries of this bush."

Kangaroo-Dog, n. a large dog, lurcher, deerhound, or greyhound, used for hunting the Kangaroo.

1806. 'History of New South Wales' (1818), p. 265:

"Shortly before the Estramina left the River Derwent, two men unfortunately perished by a whale-boat upsetting, in which they were transporting four valuable kangaroo-dogs to the opposite side, none of which ever reached the shore."

1830. R. Dawson, 'Present State of Australia,' p. 141:

"The kind of dog used for coursing the kangaroo is generally a cross between the greyhound and the mastiff or sheep-dog; but in a climate like New South Wales they have, to use the common phrase, too much lumber about them. The true bred greyhound is the most useful dog: he has more wind; he ascends the hills with more ease; and will run double the number of courses in a day. He has more bottom in running, and if he has less ferocity when he comes up with an 'old man,' so much the better, as he exposes himself the less, and lives to afford sport another day."

1832. J. Bischoff, 'Van Diemen's Land,' c. ii. p. 31:

"They . . . are sometimes caught by the kangaroo-dogs."

1845. R. Howitt, 'Australia,' p. 126:

"A fine kangaroo-dog was pointed out to us, so fond of kangarooing that it goes out alone, kills the game, and then fetches its master to the dead animals."

1847. J. D. Lang, 'Cooksland,' p. 422:

"With the gun over his shoulder, and the kangaroo-dog in a leash by his side."

1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, 'Port Phillip in 1849,' c. iii. p. 35:

"On every station, also, a large kind of greyhound, a cross of the Scotch greyhound and English bulldog, called the kangaroo-dog, which runs by sight, is kept for the purpose of their destruction."

1888. Cassell's 'Picturesque Australasia,' vol. ii. p. 91:

"Kangaroo-dogs are a special breed, a kind of strong greyhound."

1893. 'The Argus,' April 8, p. 4, col. 1:

"That big, powerful, black kangaroo-dog Marmarah was well worth looking at, with his broad, deep chest, intelligent, determined eyes, sinews of a gymnast, and ribs like Damascus steel. On his black skin he bore marks of many honourable fights; the near side showed a long, whitish line where the big emu he had run down, tackled single-handed, and finally killed, had laid him open. His chest and legs showed numerous grey scars, each with a history of its own of which he might well be proud."

Kangaroo-Fly, n. a small Australian fly, Cabarus. See quotations.

1833. C. Sturt, 'Southern Australia,' vol. I. c. ii. p. 71:

"Our camp was infested by the kangaroo-fly, which settled upon us in thousands."

1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, 'History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. i. p. 313 [Note]:

"Rather smaller than the house-fly, it acts with such celerity that it has no sooner settled on the face or hands than it inflicts instantaneously a painful wound, which often bleeds subsequently. It is called by the colonists the kangaroo-fly; and though not very common, the author can testify that it is one of the most annoying pests of Australia."

Kangaroo-Grass, n. a name given to several species of grasses of the genera Anthistiria and Andropogon, chiefly from their height, but also because, when they are young and green in spring, the Kangaroo feeds on them. Andropogon is more like a rush or sedge, and is sometimes so high as to completely conceal horses. See Grass.

1827. P. Cunningham, 'Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 209:

"Of native grasses we possess the oat-grass, rye-grass, fiorin, kangaroo-grass, and timothy,—blady grass growing in wet, flooded, alluvial spots, and wire-grass upon cold, wet, washed clays."

1838. 'Report of Van Diemen's Land Company,' in J. Bischoff's 'Van Diemen's Land' (1832), c. v. p. 119:

"The grasses were principally timothy, foxtail, and single kangaroo."

1845. T. L. Mitchell, 'Tropical Australia, p. 88:

"A new species of Anthistiria occurred here, perfectly distinct from the kangaroo grass of the colony."

1848. W. Westgarth, 'Australia Felix,' p. 131:

"The most conspicuous of the native Gramineae that so widely cover the surface of Australia Felix."

1862. G. T. Lloyd, 'Thirty-three Years in Tasmania and Victoria,' p. 36:

"Where are the genial morning dews of former days that used to glisten upon and bespangle the vernal-leaved kangaroo grass?"

1862. G. T. Lloyd, 'Thirty-three Years in Tasmania,' p. 393:

"Between the Lake River and Launceston . . . I was most agreeably surprised in beholding the novel sight of a spacious enclosure of waving kangaroo grass, high and thick-standing as a good crop of oats, and evidently preserved for seed."

1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' p. 8:

"Not even a withered wisp of kangaroo-grass."

(p. 193):

"The long brown kangaroo-grass."

1891. 'The Argus,' Dec. 19, p. 4, col. 2:

"Had they but pulled a tuft of the kangaroo-grass beneath their feet, they would have found gold at its roots."

Kangaroo-hop, n. a peculiar affected gait. See quotation.

1875. 'Spectator' (Melbourne), May 22, p. 27, col. 2:

"The young lady that affects waterfalls, the Grecian-bend, or the kangaroo hop."

Kangaroo-Hound, n. i.q. Kangaroo-Dog (q.v.).

1865. Lady Barker, 'Station Life in New Zealand,' p. 28:

"A large dog, a kangaroo-hound (not unlike a lurcher in appearance)."

Kangarooing, vb. n. hunting the kangaroo.

1852. Mrs. Meredith, 'My Home in Tasmania,' p. 257:

"In chasing kangaroos, or, as it is technically termed, 'kangarooing,' large powerful dogs are used . . ."

1870. E. B. Kennedy, 'Four Years in Queensland,' p. 194:

"You may be out Kangarooing; the dogs take after one [a kangaroo], and it promises to be a good course."

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Robbery under Arms,' p. 15:

"We were sick of kangarooing, like the dogs themselves, that as they grew old would run a little way and then pull up if a mob came jump, jump, past them."

Kangaroo-Mouse, n. more strictly called the Pouched-Mouse (q.v.).

1888. D. Macdonald, 'Gum Boughs,' p. 256:

"It is a long chain from the big forester, down through the different varieties of wallaby to the kangaroo-rat, and finally, to the tiny interesting little creature known on the plains as the 'kangaroo-mouse'; but all have the same characteristics."

Kangaroo-net, n. net made by the natives to catch the kangaroo.

1847. L. Leichhardt, 'Overland Expedition,' p. 45:

"I found . . . four fine kangaroo-nets, made of the bark of sterculia."

Kangaroo-Rat, or Rat-Kangaroo, n. the name applied to species of Marsupials belonging to the following genera, viz.—

(1) Potorous, (2) Caloprymnus, (3) Bettongia, (4) AEpyprymnus.

(1) The first genus (Potorous, q.v.) includes animals about the size of a large rat; according to Gould, although they stand much on their hind-legs they run in a totally different way to the kangaroo, using fore and hind-legs in a kind of gallop and never attempting to kick with the hind-feet. The aboriginal name was Potoroo. The species are three—the Broad-faced Kangaroo-Rat, Potorous platyops, Gould; Gilbert's, P. gilberti, Gould; Common, P. tridactylus, Kerr. They are confined to Australia and Tasmania, and one Tasmanian variety of the last species is bigger than the mainland form. There is also a dwarf Tasmanian variety of the same species.

(2) A second genus (Caloprymnus, q.v.) includes the Plain Kangaroo-Rat; it has only one species, C. campestris, Gould, confined to South Australia. The epithet plain refers to its inhabiting plains.

(3) A third genus (Bettongia, q.v.) includes the Prehensile-tailed Rat-Kangaroos and has four species, distributed in Australia and Tasmania—

Brush-tailed Kangaroo-Rat— Bettongia penicillata, Gray.

Gaimard's K.-R.— B. gaimardi, Desm.

Lesueur's K.-R.— B. lesueuri, Quoy and Gaim.

Tasmanian K.-R.— B. cuniculus, Ogilby.

(4) A fourth genus (AEpyprymnus, q.v.) includes the Rufous Kangaroo-Rat. It has one species, AE. rufescens, Grey. It is the largest of the Kangaroo-Rats and is distinguished by its ruddy colour, black-backed ears, and hairy nose.

[Mr. Lydekker proposes to call the animal the Rat- Kangaroo (see quotation, 1894), but the name Kangaroo- Rat is now so well-established that it does not seem possible to supersede it by the, perhaps, more correct name of Rat-Kangaroo. The introduction of the word Kangaroo prevents any possibility of confusion between this animal and the true rodent, and it would seem to be a matter of indifference as to which word precedes or follows the other.]

1788. Governor Phillip (Despatch, May 15), in 'Historical Records of New South Wales,' vol. I. pt. ii. p. 135:

"Many trees were seen with holes that had been enlarged by the natives to get at the animal, either the squirrel, kangaroo rat, or opossum, for the going in of which perhaps they wait under their temporary huts, and as the enlarging these holes could only be done with the shell they used to separate the oysters from the rocks, must require great patience."

1793 Governor Hunter, 'Voyage,' p. 61:

"As most of the large trees are hollow by being rotten in the heart, the opossum, kangaroo-rat, squirrel, and various other animals which inhabit the woods, when they are pursued, commonly run into the hollow of a tree."

1802. G. Barrington, 'History of New South Wales,' c. xi. p. 430:

"The poto roo, or kangaroo-rat. . . . This curious animal which is indeed a miniature of the Kangaroo."

1832. J. Bischoff, 'Van Diemen's Land,' c. ii. p. 28:

"The kangaroo-rat is a small inoffensive animal and perfectly distinct from the ordinary species of rat."

1836. C. Darwin, 'Naturalist's Voyage,' c. xix. p. 321:

"The greyhounds pursued a kangaroo-rat into a hollow tree, out of which we dragged it; it is an animal as large as a rabbit, but with the figure of a kangaroo."

1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, 'Port Phillip in 1849,' p. 37:

"The kangaroo-rat is twice the size of a large English water-rat, and of the same colour, measuring nearly two feet in length."

1852. G. C. Mundy, 'Our Antipodes' (edition 1853), p. 157:

"Two or three of the smallest kind, called the kangaroo-rat— about the size of a hare, and affording pretty good coursing."

1860. Fison and Howitt, 'Kamilaroi and Kurnai,' p. 195:

"One of the skin aprons . . . made from the skin of a kangaroo-rat."

1879. C. W. Schurmann, 'Native Tribes of Australia—Port Lincoln Tribe,' p. 214:

"The natives use this weapon [the Waddy] principally for throwing at kangaroo-rats or other small animals."

1890. A. H. S. Lucas, 'Handbook of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science,' Melbourne, p. 63:

"The Victorian Kangaroo rat is Bettongia cuniculus."

1894. R.Lydekker, 'Marsupialia,' p. 63:

"The rat-kangaroos, often incorrectly spoken of as kangaroo-rats."

Kangaroo-skin, n. either the leather for the tanned hide, or the complete fur for rugs and wraps.

1806. 'History of New South Wales' (1818), p. 258:

"The fitness of the kangaroo-skin for upper leathers will no doubt obtain preference over most of the imported leather, as it is in general lighter and equally durable."

1872. C. H. Eden, 'My Wife and I in Queensland,' p. 106:

"I used always to strip and preserve the pelt, for it makes good and pretty door-mats, and is most useful for pouches, leggings, light-whips, or any purpose where you require something strong and yet neater than green hide. I have seen saddles covered with it, and kangaroo-skin boots are very lasting and good."

Kangaroo-tail Soup, n. soup made from the kangaroo-tail.

1820. W. C. Wentworth, 'Description of New South Wales,' p. 58:

"The tail of the forest kangaroo in particular makes a soup which, both in richness and flavour, is far superior to any ox-tail soup ever tasted."

1865. Lady Barker, writing from Melbourne, 'Station Life in New Zealand,' p. 14:

"The soups comprised kangaroo-tail—a clear soup not unlike ox-tail, but with a flavour of game."

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, 'Miner's Right,' c. xxxv. p. 312:

"Kangaroo-tail and ox-tail soup disputed pre-eminence."

Kangaroo-Thorn, n. an indigenous hedge-plant, Acacia armata, R. Br., N.O. Leguminosae; called also Kangaroo Acacia.

Kapai, adj. Maori word for good, used by the English in the North Island of New Zealand; e.g. "That is a kapai pipe." "I have a kapai gun."

1896. 'New Zealand Herald,' Feb. 14 (Leading Article):

"The Maori word which passed most familiarly into the speech of Europeans was 'kapai,' 'this is good.'"

Kapu, n. Maori word for a stone adze. The Maori word means the hollow of the hand. The adze is so called from its curved shape. (Williams, 'Maori Dict.')

1889. 'Catalogue of New Zealand Exhibition,' p. 140:

"Kapu,, or adze."

Karaka, n. Maori name for a tree, Corynocarpus laevigata, Forst. N.O. anacardiaceae; also called Cow-tree (q.v.), forty feet high, with orange- coloured berries, two to three inches long.

1845. E. J. Wakefield, 'Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 226:

"Two or three canoes were hauled up under some karaka trees, which formed a pleasant grove in a sort of recess from the beach."

Ibid. vol. i. p. 233:

"The karaka-tree much resembles the laurel in its growth and foliage. It bears bright orange-coloured berries about the size and shape of damsons, growing in bunches. The fruit is sickly and dry; but the kernel forms an important article of native food."

1859. A. S. Thomson, 'Story of New Zealand,' p. 157:

"The karaka fruit is about the size of an acorn. The pulp is eaten raw; the kernel is cooked in the oven for ten days, and then steeped for several weeks in a running stream before it is fit for use. Karaka berries for winter use are dried in the sun. The kernel is poisonous uncooked."

1872. A. Domett, 'Ranolf,' p. 108:

"The thick karakas' varnished green."

1881. J. L. Campbell, 'Poenamo,' p. 102:

"The karaka with its brilliantly polished green leaves and golden yellow fruit."

1883. F. S. Renwick, 'Betrayed,' p. 35:

"Bring the heavy karaka leaf, Gather flowers of richest hue."

1892. 'Otago Witness,' Nov. 10. (Native Trees):

"Corynocarpus laevigata (generally known by the name of karaka). The fruit is poisonous, and many deaths of children occur through eating it. Mr. Anderson, a surgeon who accompanied Captain Cook, mentions this tree and its fruit, and says the sailors ate it, but does not say anything about it being poisonous. The poison is in the hard inner part, and it may be that they only ate the outer pulp."

Karamu, n. Maori name for several species of the New Zealand trees of the genus Coprosma, N.O. Rubiaceae. Some of the species are called Tree-karamu, and others Bush-karamu; to the latter (C. lucida, Kirk) the name Coffee-plant, or Coffee-bush, is also applied.

1874. J. White, 'Te Rou, or the Maori at Home,' p. 221:

"Then they tied a few Karamu branches in front of them and went towards the settlement."

1876. J. C. Crawford, 'Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,' vol. IX. art. lxxx. p. 545:

"I have seen it stated that coffee of fine flavour has been produced from the karamu, coprosma lucida."

1883. J. Hector, 'Handbook of New Zealand, p. 132:

"Karamu. an ornamental shrub-tree; wood close-grained and yellow; might be used for turnery."

1887. T. F. Cheeseman, 'Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,' vol. XX. art. xxii. p. 143:

"The first plant of interest noted was a new species of coprosma, with the habit of the common karamu."

1889. T. Kirk, 'Forest Flora of New Zealand,' p. 275:

"'Karamu' is applied by the Maoris to several species of Coprosma, amongst which, I believe, this [C. arborea] is included, but it is commonly termed 'tree-karamu' by bushmen and settlers in the North."

1891. T. H. Potts, 'Out in the Open,' 'New Zealand Country Journal,' vol. xv. p. 105:

"Of these fruits that of the karamu, (Coprosma lucida), seemed to be amongst the first to be selected."

Kareau or Kareao, n. Maori name for Supplejack (q.v.).

Karmai, n. used by settlers in South Island of New Zealand for Towhai (q.v.), a New Zealand tree, Weinmannia racemosa, Forst. N.O. Saxifrageae. Kamahi is the Maori, and Karmai, or Kamai, the corruption.

1876. W. N. Blair, 'Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,' vol. ix. p. 148:

"As will be seen by the tables of names, kamai is called black birch in the Catlin River District and Southland, which name is given on account of a supposed resemblance to the 'birches,' or more correctly 'beeches,' a number of which occur in that locality. I cannot understand how such an idea could have originated, for except in the case of the bark of one there is not the slightest resemblance between the birches and kamai. Whatever be the reason, the misapplication of names is complete, for the birches are still commonly called kamai in Southland."

Karoro, n. Maori name for a Black-backed Gull, Larus dominicanus.

1888. W. L. Buller, 'Birds of New Zealand,' vol. ii. p. 47: [Description.]

Karri or Kari, n. aboriginal name (Western Australia) for Eucalyptus diversicolor. F. v. M.

1870. W. H. Knight, 'Western Australia: Its History, Progress, Condition, etc.,' p. 38:

"The Karri (eucalyptus colossea) is another wood very similar in many respects to the tuart, and grows to an enormous size."

1875. T. Laslett, 'Timber and Timber Trees,' p. 196:

"The kari-tree is found in Western Australia, and is said to be very abundant . . . of straight growth and can be obtained of extraordinary size and length. . . . The wood is red in colour, hard, heavy, strong, tough, and slightly wavy or curled in the grain."

1889. J. H. Maiden, 'Useful Native Plants,' p. 444:

"Commonly known as 'karri,' but in its native habitat as blue-gum. . . . The durability of this timber for lengthened periods under ground yet remains to be proved."

1896. 'The Inquirer and Commercial News,' [Perth] July 3, p. 4, col. 5:

"Mr. J. Ednie Brown, conservator of forests . . . expresses astonishment at the vastness of the karri forests there. They will be in a position to export one thousand loads of karri timber for street-blocking purposes every week."

1896. 'The Times' (Weekly Edition), Dec. 4, p. 822, col. 1:

"Karri, Eucalyptus diversicolor, is the giant tree of Western Australia. an average tree has a height of about 200ft., and a diameter of 4 ft. at 3 ft. or 4 ft. above the ground. The tree is a rapid grower, and becomes marketable in 30 or 40 years, against 50 years for jarrah. Karri timber is being largely exported for London street-paving, as its surface is not easily rendered slippery."

Katipo, n. a small venomous spider of New Zealand and Australia. The name is Maori. The scientific name is Latrodectus scelio, Thorel.In New Zealand, it is generally found on the beach under old driftwood; but in Australia it is found widely scattered over the Continent, and always frequents dark sheltered spots. The derivation may be from Kakati, verb, to sting, and po, night. Compare Kakapo. It is a dark-coloured spider, with a bright red or yellowish stripe.

1867. F. Hochstetter, 'New Zealand,' p. 440:

"A small black spider with a red stripe on its back, which they [the natives of New Zealand] call katipo or katepo."

1870. Sir W. Buller, before Wellington Philosophical Society, quoted in 'The Katipo,' Jan. 1, 1892, p. 2:

"I have satisfied myself that in common with many other venomous creatures it (the katipo) only asserts its dreaded power as a means of defence, or when greatly irritated, for I have observed that on being touched with the finger it instantly folds its legs, rolls over on its back, and simulates death, remaining perfectly motionless till further molested, when it attempts to escape, only using its fangs as the dernier ressort."

1890. C. Lumholtz, 'Among Cannibals, p. 39:

"Another spider (Lathrodectus scelio), which is very common here and everywhere in Queensland, is very dangerous even to men. It is a small black animal, of the size of our house-spider, with a brilliant scarlet mark on its back."

1891. C. Frost, 'Victorian Naturalist,' p. 140:

"I also determined, should opportunity occur, to make some further experiments with the black and red spider Latrodectus scelio . . . I found suspended in the web of one of this species a small lizard . . . which doubtless had been killed by its bite."

1892. Jan. 1, 'The Katipo,' a Journal of Events in connection with the New Zealand Post Office and Telegraph Services. On p. 2 of the first number the Editor says:

"If hard words could break bones, the present lot of the proprietors of 'The Katipo' would be a sorry one. From certain quarters invectives of the most virulent type have been hurled upon them in connection with the title now bestowed upon the publication—the main objections expressed cover contentions that the journal's prototype is a 'repulsive,' 'vindictive,' and 'death-dealing reptile,' 'inimical to man,' etc. ; and so on, ad infinitum."

[The pictorial heading of each number is a katipo's web, suggestive of the reticulation of telegraph wires, concerning which page 3 of the first number says: "The Katipo spider and web extends its threads as a groundwork for unity of the services."]

1895. H. R. Hogq, 'Horne Expedition in Central Australia, Zoology, p. 322:

"This spider, popularly known as the red streaked spider, is found all over Victoria and New South Wales, and is recorded from Rockhampton and Bowen on the Queensland Coast, and from the North Island of New Zealand, where it is known by the Maoris as the Katipo."

Kauri, or Cowry, or Kauri-Pine, n. Maori name for the tree Agathis australis, Sal. (formerly Dammara A.), N.O. Coniferae. Variously spelt, and earlier often called Cowdie. In 'Lee's New Zealand Vocabulary,' 1820, the spelling Kaudi appears. Although this tree is usually called by the generic name of Dammara (see quotation, 1832), it is properly referred to the genus Agathis, an earlier name already given to it by Salisbury. There is a Queensland Kauri (Dammara robusta, F. v. M.). See Pine.

1823. R. A. Cruise, 'Ten Months in New Zealand,' p. 145:

"The banks of the river were found to abound with cowry; and . . . the carpenter was of opinion that there could be no great difficulty in loading the ship. The timber purveyor of the Coromandel having given cowry a decided preference to kaikaterre, . . . it was determined to abandon all further operations."

1835. W. Yate, 'True Account of New Zealand,' p. 37:

"As a shrub, and during its youthful days, the kauri is not very graceful . . . but when it comes to years of maturity, it stands unrivalled for majesty and beauty."

1852. G. C. Mundy, 'Our Antipodes' (edition 1855), p. 285:

"The kauri (Dammera [sic] Australis) is coniferous, resinous, and has an elongated box-like leaf."

1860. G. Bennett, 'Gatherings of a Naturalist,' p. 349:

"When Captain Cook visited New Zealand (nearly a century after the discovery of the Dammara of Amboyna), he saw, upon the east coast of the Northern Island, a tree, called by the natives Kowrie; it was found to be a second species of Dammara, and was named D. australis."

1867. F. Hochstetter, 'New Zealand,' p. 140:

"The Kauri-pine is justly styled the Queen of the New Zealand forest . . . the celebrated and beautiful Kauri."

1874. W. M. B., 'Narrative of Edward Crewe,' p. 169:

"The kauri is the only cone-bearing pine in New Zealand. The wood is of a yellow colour, wonderfully free from knots, and harder than the red-pine of the Baltic. Beautifully mottled logs are sometimes met with, and are frequently made up into furniture."

1875. T. Laslett, 'Timber and Timber Trees,' p. 295:

"The Kaurie or Cowdie-Pine (Dammara Australis) is a native of and is found only in New Zealand. . . . A tall and very handsome tree with a slightly tapering stem. . . . For masts, yards, etc., is unrivalled in excellence, as it not only possesses the requisite dimensions, lightness, elasticity, and strength, but is much more durable than any other Pine." [The whole of chap. 37 is devoted to this tree.]

1883. F. S. Renwick, 'Betrayed,' p. 47:

"As some tall kauri soars in lonely pride, So proudly Hira stood."

1886. J. A. Froude, 'Oceans,' p. 318:

"Only the majestic Kauri tolerated no approaches to his dignity. Under his branches all was bare and brown."

1889. T. Kirk, 'Forest Flora of New Zealand,' p. 143:

"The Native name 'Kauri' is the only common name in general use. When the timber was first introduced into Britain it was termed 'cowrie' or 'kowdie-pine'; but the name speedily fell into disuse, although it still appears as the common name in some horticultural works."

1890. Brett, 'Early History of New Zealand,' p. 115:

"'The Hunter' and 'Fancy' loaded spars for Bengal at the Thames in 1798." . . . "These two Indian vessels in the Thames were probably the earliest European ships that loaded with New Zealand Timber, and probably mark the commencement of the export Kauri trade."

Kauri-gum, n. the resin which exudes from the Kauri (q.v.), used in making varnish.

1867. F. Hochstetter, 'New Zealand,' p. 140:

"In the year 1859 the amount of timber exportation from the Province of Auckland was L 34,376; that of kauri-gum exported L 20,776."

1874. G. Walch, 'Head over Heels,' p. 15:

"He paid his passage with kauri-gum."

1893. 'Murray's Handbook to New Zealand,' p. 62:

"The industry which will most interest the tourist is the Kauri-gum. . . . The resin or gum which they [the Kauri-trees] contained fell into the ground as the trees died, and (not being soluble in water) has remained there ever since. Men go about with spears which they drive into the ground, and if they find small pieces of gum sticking to the end of the spear, they commence digging, and are often rewarded by coming on large lumps of gum."

Kava, n. The word is Tongan for—

(1) An ornamental shrub, Piper methysticum, Miq.; also Macropiper latifolium, Miq. See Kawa-kawa.

(2) A narcotic and stimulant beverage, prepared from the root of this plant, which used to be chewed by the natives of Fiji, who ejected the saliva into a Kava bowl, added water and awaited fermentation. The final stage of the manufacture was accompanied by a religious ceremonial of chanting. The manufacture is now conducted in a cleaner way. Kava produces an intoxication, specially affecting the legs.

1858. Rev. T. Williams, 'Fiji and the Fijians,' vol. i. p. 141:

"Like the inhabitants of the groups eastward, the Fijians drink an infusion of the Piper methysticum, generally called Ava or Kava—its name in the Tongan and other languages. Some old men assert that the true Fijian mode of preparing the root is by grating, as is still the practice in two or three places; but in this degenerate age the Tongan custom of chewing is almost universal, the operation nearly always being performed by young men. More form attends the use of this narcotic on Somosomo than elsewhere. Early in the morning the king's herald stands in front of the royal abode, and shouts at the top of his voice, 'Yagona!' Hereupon all within hearing respond in a sort of scream, 'Mama!'—'Chew it!' At this signal the chiefs, priests, and leading men gather round the well-known bowl, and talk over public affairs, or state the work assigned for the day, while their favourite draught is being prepared. When the young men have finished the chewing, each deposits his portion in the form of a round dry ball in the bowl, the inside of which thus becomes studded over with a large number of these separate little masses. The man who has to make the grog takes the bowl by the edge and tilts it towards the king, or, in his absence, to the chief appointed to preside. A herald calls the king's attention to the slanting bowl, saying, 'Sir, with respects, the yagona is collected.' If the king thinks it enough, he replies, in a low tone, 'Loba'—'Wring it—an order which the herald communicates to the man at the bowl in a louder voice. The water is then called for and gradually poured in, a little at first, and then more, until the bowl is full or the master of the ceremonies says, 'Stop!' the operator in the meantime gathering up and compressing the chewed root."

1888. H. S. Cooper, 'The Islands of the Pacific,' p. 102:

"Kava is the name given to a liquor produced by chewing the root of a shrub called angona, and the ceremonious part of the preparation consists in chewing the root."

Kawa-kawa, n. Maori name for an ornamental shrub of New Zealand, Macropiper excelsum. In Maori, Kawa = "unpleasant to the taste, bitter, sour." (Williams.) The missionaries used to make small beer out of the Kawa-kawa.