Austral English. Edward Ellis Morris
Australia. Its etymology is contained in the quotation, 1877.
1806. `Naval Chronicles,' c. xv. p. 460:
"Clubs made of the wood of the Casuarina."
1814. R. Brown, `Botany of Terra Australis,' in M. Flinders' `Voyage to Terra Australis,' vol. ii. p. 571:
"Casuarinae. The genus <i>Casuarina</i> is certainly not referable to any order of plants at present established … it may be considered a separate order. … The maximum of Casuarina appears to exist in Terra Australis, where it forms one of the characteristic features of the vegetation."
1855. G. C. Mundy, `Our Antipodes,' p. 160:
"The dark selvage of casuarinas fringing its bank."
1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 10:
"The vegetation assumed a new character, the eucalyptus and casuarina alternating with the wild cherry and honeysuckle."
1877. F. v. Mueller, `Botanic Teachings,' p. 34:
"The scientific name of these well-known plants is as appropriate as their vernacular appellation is odd and unsuited. The former alludes to the cassowary (Casuarius), the plumage of which is comparatively as much reduced among birds, as the foliage of the casuarinas is stringy among trees. Hence more than two centuries ago Rumph already bestowed the name Casuarina on a Java species, led by the Dutch colonists, who call it there the Casuaris-Boom. The Australian vernacular name seems to have arisen from some fancied resemblance of the wood of some casuarinas to that of oaks, notwithstanding the extreme difference of the foliage and fruit; unless, as Dr. Hooker supposes, the popular name of these trees and shrubs arose from the Canadian `Sheack.'"
1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 397:
"From a fancied resemblance of the wood of casuarinas to that of oak, these trees are called `oaks,' and the same and different species have various appellations in various parts."
1890. C. Lumholtz; `Among Cannibals,' p. 33:
"Along its banks (the Comet's) my attention was drawn to a number of casuarinas—those leafless, dark trees, which always make a sad impression on the traveller; even a casual observer will notice the dull, depressing sigh which comes from a grove of these trees when there is the least breeze.'"
<hw>Cat-bird</hw>, <i>n</i>. In America the name is given to <i>Mimus carolinensis</i>, a mocking thrush, which like the Australian bird has a cry resembling the mewing of a cat. The Australian species are—
The Cat-bird—
<i>Ailuraedus viridis</i>, Lath.
Spotted C.—
<i>Ailuraedus maculosus</i>, Ramsay.
<i>Pomatostomus rubeculus</i>, Gould.
Tooth-billed C.—
<i>Scenopaeus dentirostris</i>, Ramsay.
1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. iv. pl. 11:
"Its loud, harsh and extraordinary note is heard; a note which differs so much from that of all other birds, that having been once heard it can never be mistaken. In comparing it to the nightly concert of the domestic cat, I conceive that I am conveying to my readers a more perfect idea of the note of this species than could be given by pages of description. This concert, like that of the animal whose name it bears, is performed either by a pair or several individuals, and nothing more is required than for the hearer to shut his eyes from the neighbouring foliage to fancy himself surrounded by London grimalkins of house-top celebrity."
1888. D.Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 36:
"One of the most peculiar of birds' eggs found about the Murray is that of the locally-termed `cat-bird,' the shell of which is veined thickly with dark thin threads as though covered with a spider's web."
1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals.' p. 96:
"The cat-bird (<i>AEluraedus maculosus</i>), which makes its appearance towards evening, and has a voice strikingly like the mewing of a cat."
1893. `The Argus,' March 25:
"Another quaint caller of the bush is the cat-bird, and its eggs are of exactly the colour of old ivory."
1896. G. A. Keartland, `Horne Expedition in Central Australia,' pt. ii. Zoology, p. 92:
"Their habit of mewing like a cat has gained for them the local cognomen of cat-birds."
<hw>Cat-fish</hw>, <i>n</i>. The name is applied in the Old World to various fishes of the family <i>Siluridae</i>, and also to the Wolf-fish of Europe and North America. It arises from the resemblance of the teeth in some cases or the projecting "whiskers" in others, to those of a cat. In Victoria and New South Wales it is a fresh-water fish, <i>Copidoglanis tandanus</i>, Mitchell, brought abundantly to Melbourne by railway. It inhabits the rivers of the Murray system, but not of the centre of the continent. Called also <i>Eel-fish</i> and <i>Tandan</i> (q.v.). In Sydney the same name is applied also to <i>Cnidoglanis megastoma</i>, Rich., and in New Zealand <i>Kathetostoma monopterygium</i>. <i>Cnidoglanis</i> and <i>Cnidoglanis</i> are Siluroids, and <i>Kathetostoma</i> is a"stargazer," i.e. a fish having eyes on the upper surface of the head, belonging to the family <i>Trachinidsae</i>.
1851. J. Henderson, `Excursions in New South Wales,' vol. ii. p. 207:
"The Cat-fish, which I have frequently caught in the McLeay, is a large and very ugly animal. Its head is provided with several large tentacatae, and it has altogether a disagreeable appearance. I have eat its flesh, but did not like it."
1880. Mrs. Meredith, `Tasmanian Friends and Foes,' p. 213 [Footnote]:
"Mr. Frank Buckland … writing of a species of rock-fish, says—`I found that it had a beautiful contrivance in the conformation of its mouth. It has the power of prolongating both its jaws to nearly the extent of half-an-inch from their natural position. This is done by a most beautiful bit of mechanism, somewhat on the principle of what are called `lazy tongs.' The cat-fish possesses a like feature, but on a much larger scale, the front part of the mouth being capable of being protruded between two and three inches when seizing prey.'"
<hw>Cat, Native</hw>, <i>n</i>. a small carnivorous marsupial, of the genus <i>Dasyurus</i>. The so-called native cat is not a cat at all, but a marsupial which resembles a very large rat or weasel, with rather a bushy tail. It is fawn-coloured or mouse-coloured, or black and covered with little white spots; a very pretty little animal. It only appears at night, when it climbs fences and trees and forms sport for moonlight shooting. Its skin is made into fancy rugs and cloaks or mantles.
The animal is more correctly called a <i>Dasyure</i> (q.v.).
The species are—
Black-tailed Native Cat
<i>Dasyurus geoffroyi</i>, Gould.
Common N.C. (called also <i>Tiger Cat</i>, q.v.)—
<i>D. viverrimus</i>, Shaw.
North Australian N.C.—
<i>D. hallucatus</i>, Gould.
Papuan N.C.—
<i>D. albopienetatus</i>, Schl.
Slender N.C.—
<i>D. gracilis</i>, Ramsay.
Spotted-tailed N.C. (called also Tiger Cat)—
<i>D. maculatus</i>, Kerr.
1880. Mrs. Meredith, `Tasmanian Friends and Foes,' p. 67:
"The native cat is similar [to the Tiger Cat; q.v.] but smaller, and its for is an ashy-grey with white spots. We have seen two or three skins quite