/i>
Duck; and the White-headed S., <i>Tadorna radjah</i>, Garnot.

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 217:

"Charley shot the sheldrake of Port Essington (Tadorna Rajah)."

<hw>Shell-grinder</hw>, <i>n</i>. another name for the
<i>Port-Jackson Shark</i> (q.v.).

<hw>She-Oak</hw>, <i>n</i>. (1) A tree of the genus
<i>Casuarina</i> (q.v.). The timber, which is very hard and
makes good fuel, was thought to resemble oak. See <i>Oak</i>,
and quotation from Captain Cook. The prefix <i>she</i> is used
in Australia to indicate an inferiority of timber in respect
of texture, colour, or other character; e.g. <i>She-beech</i>,
<i>She-pine</i>. The reason for <i>He-oak</i> is given in
quotation 1835. <i>Bull-oak</i>, <i>Marsh-oak</i>,
<i>Swamp-oak</i>, were invented to represent variations
of the Casuarina. Except in its timber, the She-oak is
not in the least like an oak-tree (<i>Quercus</i>). The
spelling in quotation 1792 makes for this simple explanation,
which, like that of <i>Beef-eater</i> in English, and <i>Mopoke</i>
in Austral-English, was too simple; and other spellings,
e.g. <i>Shea-oak</i>, were introduced, to suggest a different
etymology. <i>Shiak</i> (quotation, 1853) seems to claim an
aboriginal origin (more directly claimed, quotation, 1895),
but no such aboriginal word is found in the vocabularies.
In quotations 1835, 1859, a different origin is assigned,
and a private correspondent, whose father was one of the first
to be born of English parents in New South Wales, says that
English officers who had served in Canada had named the tree
after one that they had known there. A higher authority,
Sir Joseph D. Hooker (see quotation, 1860), says, "I believe
adapted from the North-American <i>Sheack</i>." This origin,
if true,is very interesting; but Sir Joseph Hooker, in a letter
dated Jan. 26, 1897, writes that his authority was Mr. Gunn
(see quotation, 1835). That writer, however, it will be seen,
only puts "is said to be." To prove the American origin, we must
find the American tree. It is not in the `Century,' nor in the
large `Webster,' nor in `Funk and Wagnall's Standard,' nor in
either of two dictionaries of Americanisms. Dr. Dawson,
director of the Geological Survey of Canada, who is thoroughly
acquainted with Indian folk-lore and languages, and Mr. Fowler,
Professor of Botany in Queen's University, Kingston, say that
there is no such Indian word.

2792. G. Thompson, in `H