Austral English Part 170

1887. `The Australian,' April:

"I cannot recommend ... [for fishing rods] ... that awful thing which our philosopher called `prickly moses.'"

Moulmein Cedar, n. See Cedar.

Mound-bird, n. the jungle-hen of Australia.

The birds scratch up heaps of soil and vegetable matter, in which they bury their eggs and leave them to be hatched by the heat of decomposition. Scientifically called Megapodes (q.v.).

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

"Next to these, as a special Australian type... . come the bush-turkeys or mound-makers ... all these birds have the curious reptilian character of never sitting on their eggs, which they bury under mounds of earth or decaying vegetable matter, allowing them to be hatched by the heat of the sun, or that produced by fermentation."

Mountain- (as epithet):

Mountain-Apple-tree-- Angophora lanceolata, Cav., N.O. Myrtaceae.

M.-Ash-- A name applied to various Eucalypts, and to the tree Alphitonia excelsa, Reiss.

M.-Beech-- The tree Lomatia longifolia, R. Br., N.0. Proteaceae.

M.-Bloodwood-- The tree Eucalyptus eximia, Schau.

M.-Cypress-pine-- The tree Frenela parlatori, F. v. M., N.0. Coniferae.

M.-Ebony-- See Ebony.

M.-Gentian-- The name is applied to the Tasmanian species, Gentiana saxosa, Forst., N.O. Gentianeae.

M.-Gums-- See Gum.

M.- Oak-- See Oak.

M.-Parrot-- Another name for the Kea (q.v.).

M.-Rocket-- The name is applied to the Tasmanian species Bellendena montana, R. Br., N.O. Proteaceae.

M.-Tea-tree-- See Tea-tree.

Mountain-Devil, n. name given to the strange-looking Australian lizard, Moloch horridus, Gray. See Moloch. Also called Spiny Lizard.

1853. `Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' vol. ii. p. 515 [November 9]:

"A spirit preparation of the Spiny Lizard (Moloch horridus) of Western Australia."

Mountain Thrush, n. an Australian thrush, Oreocincla lunulata, Gould. See Thrush.

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

"Oreocincla lunulatus, Mountain Thrush, Colonists of Van Diemen's Land. In all localities suitable to its habits and mode of life, this species is tolerably abundant, both in Van Diemen's Land and in New South Wales; it has also been observed in South Australia, where however it is rare."

Mountain-Trout, n. species of Galaxias, small cylindrical fishes inhabiting the colder rivers of Australasia, Southern Chili, Magellan Straits, and the Falkland Islands. On account of the distribution of these fish and of other forms of animals, it has been suggested that in a remote geological period the area of land above the level of the sea in the antarctic regions must have been sufficiently extended to admit of some kind of continuity across the whole width of the Pacific between the southern extremities of South America and Australia.

Mud-fat, adj. fat as mud, very fat.

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

"There's half this fine body of veal, mud-fat and tender as a chicken, worth a shilling a pound there."

Mud-fish, n. a fish of Westland, New Zealand, Neochanna apoda, Gunth. Guenther says Neochanna is a "degraded form of Galaxias [see Mountain-Trout], from which it differs by the absence of ventral fins. This fish has hitherto been found only in burrows, which it excavates 1n clay or consolidated mud, at a distance from water."

Mud-lark, n. another name for the Magpie-lark, Grallina picata (q.v.).

Mulberry-bird, n. name given to the Australian bird Sphecotheres maxillaris, Lath.; called also Fig-bird (q.v.).

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

i. no. 6, p. 113:

"Southern Sphecotheres. Mr. Grime informs me it is fairly common on the Tweed River, where it is locally known as the `Mulberry-bird,' from the decided preference it evinces for that species of fruit amongst many others attacked by this bird."

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

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

Called also Smooth Holly.

Piturus propinquus, Wedd., N.O. Urticeae. Called also Queensland Grasscloth Plant.

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

Called also Pigeonberry-tree.

The common English garden fruit-tree is also acclimatised, and the Victorian Silk Culture Association, assisted by the Government, are planting many thousands of the White Mulberry for silk culture.

Mulga, n. an aboriginal word. (1) Name given to various species of Acacia, but especially A. aneura, F. v. M., N.0. Leguminosae. See also Red Mulga.

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

p. 154:

"We arrived at the foot nearly naked, and got into open sandy rises and valleys, with mulga and plenty of grass, amongst which there is some spinifex growing."

1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. ii. p. 126, Note:

"Mulga is an Acacia. It grows in thick bushes, with thin twigs and small leaves. Probably it is the most extensively distributed tree in all Australia. It extends right across the continent."

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

[7th ed.], p. 1:

"Acacia aneura, F. v. M. Arid desert interior of extra-tropic Australia. A tree never more than 25 feet high. The principal `Mulga' tree... . Cattle and sheep browse on the twigs of this and some allied species, even in the presence of plentiful grass, and are much sustained by such acacias in seasons of protracted drought."

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