Austral English Part 164

Dusky-M.-- M. obscura, Gould.

Yellow-M.-- M. lutea, Gould.

Yellow-throated M.-- M. flavigula, Gould.

1803. Lord Valentia, `Voyages,' vol. i. p. 227 [Stanford]:

"During the whole of our stay two minahs were talking most incessantly."

1813. J. Forbes, `Oriental Memoirs,' vol. i. p. 47 [Yule]:

"The mynah is a very entertaining bird, hopping about the house, and articulating several words in the manner of the starling."

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. iv. pl. 40:

"While at other times, like the miners (genus, Myzantha), it soars from tree to tree with the most graceful and easy movement."

Ibid. vol. iv. pl. 76:

"Myzantha garrula, Vig. and Horsf, Garrulous Honey-eater; miner, Colonists of Van Diemen's Land, M. flavigula, Gould, Yellow-Throated miner."

1861. Mrs. Meredith, `Over the Straits,' vol. i. p. 33:

"His common name ... is said to be given from his resemblance to some Indian bird called mina or miner."

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 72:

"The Indian minah is as much at home, and almost as presumptuous, as the sparrow."

(p. 146): "Yellow-legged minahs, tamest of all Australian birds."

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

"The plaintive chirp of the mina."

Miner's Right, n. the licence to dig for gold.

See quotation.

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `The Miner's Right,' p. 1:

"A miner's right, a wonderful doc.u.ment, printed and written on parchment, precisely as follows."

[A reduced facsimile is given.]

Ibid. p. 106:

"You produce your Miner's Right ... The important piece of parchment, about the size of a bank-cheque, was handed to the Court."

Mingi, n. originally mingi mingi, Maori name for a New Zealand shrub or small tree, Cyathodes acerosa, R. Br., N.O. Epacrideae. In south New Zealand it is often called Micky.

Minnow, n. name sometimes given to a very small fish of New Zealand, Galaxias attenuatus, Jenyns, family Galaxidae; called also Whitebait (q.v.). The Maori name is Inanga (q.v.).

Mint, Australian or Native, n. a plant, Mentha australis, R. Br., N.O. l.a.b.i.atea.

This herb was largely used by the early colonists of South Australia for tea. Many of the plants of the genus Mentha in Australia yield oil of good flavour, among them the common Pennyroyal.

Mint-tree, n. In Australia, the tree is Prostanthera lasiantha, Labill., N.O. l.a.b.i.ateae.

Mirnyong, n. aboriginal name for a sh.e.l.l-mound, generally supposed to be Victorian, but, by some, Tasmanian.

1888. R. M. Johnston, `Geology of Tasmania,' p. 337:

"With the exception of their rude inconspicuous flints, and the acc.u.mulated remains of their feasts in the `mirnyongs,' or native sh.e.l.l-mounds, along our coasts, which only have significance to the careful observer, we have no other visible evidence of their former existence."

1893. R. Etheridge, jun., `Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia,' p. 21 [t.i.tle of Paper]:

"The Mirrn-yong heaps at the North-West bank of the River Murray."

Miro, n. (1) Maori name for a Robin (q.v.), and adopted as the scientific name of a genus of New Zealand Robins. The word is shortened form of Miro-miro.

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 403:

"Miro-miro (Miro albifrons). A little black-and-white bird with a large head; it is very tame, and has a short melancholy song. The miro toi-toi (muscicapa toi-toi) is a bird not larger than the tom-t.i.t. Its plumage is black and white, having a white breast and some of the near feathers of each wing tinged with white."

1879. W. Colenso, `Transactions of New Zealand Inst.i.tute,'

vol. xii. art. vii. p. 119:

"Proverb 28: Ma to kanohi miro-miro, [signifying] `To be found by the sharp-eyed little bird.' Lit. `For the miro-miro's eye.' Used as a stimulus to a person searching for anything lost. The miro-miro is the little petroica toi-toi, which runs up and down trees peering for minute insects in the bark."

1882. W. L. Buller, `Manual of the Birds of New Zealand,'

p. 23:

"The Petroeca Iongipes is confined to the North Island, where it is very common in all the wooded parts of the country; but it is represented in the South Island by a closely allied and equally common species, the miro albifrons."

(2) Maori name for a New Zealand tree, Podocarpus ferruginea, Don., N.O. Coniferae; the Black-pine of Otago.

1875. T. Laslett, `Timber and Timber Trees,' p. 308:

"The miro-tree (Podocarpus ferruginea) is found in slightly elevated situations in many of the forests in New Zealand. Height about sixty feet. The wood varies from light to dark-brown in colour, is close in grain, moderately hard and heavy, planes up well, and takes a good polish."

1889. T. Kirk, `Forest Flora of New Zealand,' p. 163:

"The Miro is a valuable tree, common in all parts of the colony... . It is usually distinguished by its ordinary native name."

Mistletoe, n. The name is given to various species of trees of several genera--

(1) In Australia, generally, to various species of Loranthus, N.O. Loranthaceae. There are a great number, they are very common on the Eucalypts, and they have the same viscous qualities as the European Mistletoes.

(2) In Western Australia, to Nuytsia floribunda, R. Br., N.O. Loranthaceae, a terrestrial species attaining the dimensions of a tree--the Flame-tree (q.v.) of Western Australia--and also curiously called there a Cabbage- tree.