Austral English Part 265

1855. Rev. R. Taylor,' Te Ika a Maui,' p. 435:

"The ti (Cordyline australis or Dracoena australis) is found in great abundance. Though so common, it has a very foreign look . . . the leaf is that of a flag, the flower forms a large droop and is very fragrant."

1866. Lady Barker, `Station Life in New Zealand,' p. 52:

"Ti-ti palms are dotted here and there, and give a foreign and tropical appearance to the whole."

1882. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open,' p. 297:

"An abundance of narrow strips of the tough, fibrous leaves of the ti-palm."

1890. W. Colenso, `Transactions of New Zealand Inst.i.tute,'

vol. xviii. art. lvii. p. 486:

"In these plains stand a number of cabbage-trees (Cordyline Australis), the ti-trees of the Maori. These often bear only a single head of long narrow harsh leaves at the top of their tall slender stems, but sometimes they are slightly branched, the branches also only bearing a similar tuft."

1892. `Otago Witness,' Dec. 22, p. 7, col. 2:

"A small grove of ti-palms or cabbage-tree."

Tiaki (spelt also Tieke), n. Maori name for the Saddle-back or Jack-bird (q.v.).

1835. W. Yate, `Account of New Zealand,' p. 56:

"Tiaki or purourou. This elegant bird is about the size of the sky-lark."

Tieke, n. Same as Tiaki (q.v.).

Tiers, pl. n. used in Tasmania as the usual word for mountains, in the same way as the word Ranges (q.v.) in Australia.

1876. W. B. Wildey, `Australasia and Oceanic Region,' p.

320:

"Two chains of mountains, the eastern and western tiers, run through it nearly north and south."

1891. `The Australasian,' April 4, p. 670, col. 2:

"That stuff as they calls horizontal, a mess of branches and root, The three barren tiers; and the Craycroft, that 'ud settle a bandicoot."

Tiersman, n. Tasmanian word for one who lives in the Tiers (q.v.).

1852. F. Lancelott, `Australia as it is,' vol. ii. p. 115:

"Splatters, or, as they are commonly called tiersmen, reside in the forest of stringy bark ..."

Tiger-Cat, n. special name applied to the Common and Spotted-tailed Native Cat.

See under Cat.

1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' c. ii. p. 52:

"The skins of the ... opossum, tiger-cat, and platypus ... are exported."

1852. Ronald C. Gunn, `Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' vol. ii. p. 11:

"Dasyurus maculatus, Shaw... . The Spotted Martin, Phillip's `Voy. to Botany Bay, p. 276. Martin Cat,' pl. 46. `Tiger Cat' of the Colonists of Tasmania, to which island it is confined. It is distinguished from D. viverrinus, the `Native Cat' of the Colonists, by its superior size and more robust form; also from the tail being spotted as well as the body."

1891. `Guide to the Zoological Gardens, Melbourne':

"After the opossums comes a specimen of the tiger-cat (Dasyurus maculatus); this animal, which is so destructive to poultry, is well known throughout the country in Victoria."

Tiger, Tasmanian. See Thylacine and Tasmanian Tiger.

Tiger-Snake, n. See under Snake.

Tih.o.r.e, n. Maori name for a species of New Zealand flax. Name used specially in the North Island for the best variety of Phormium (q.v.).

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

p. 286:

"The species of Phormium tenax thus cultivated is the tih.o.r.e, literally the `skinning' flax. This name describes the ease with which it submits to the sc.r.a.ping process."

Tiki, n. Maori name for the Creator of man, and thence taken to represent an ancestor. The Maoris made large wooden images to represent their Tiki, and gave the name of Tiki to these images. Later they were made in miniature in greenstone (q.v.), and used as neck ornaments.

See Heitiki.

t.i.t, n. common English bird name.

Applied in Australia to the following species--

Broad-tailed t.i.t-- Acanthiza apicalis, Gould.

Brown T.-- A. pusilla, Lath.

Buff T.-- Geobasileus reguloides, V. and H.

Chestnut-rumped T.-- Acanthiza uropygialis, Gould.

Little T.-- A. nana, Vig. and Hors.

Plain T.-- A. inornata, Gould.

Red-rumped T.-- A. pyrrhopygia, Gould.

Scaly-breasted T.-- A. squamata, De Vis.

Scrub T.-- Sericornis magna, Gould.

Striated T.-- Acanthiza lineata, Gould.

Tasmanian T.-- A. diemenensis, Gould; called also Brown-tail.