YEW FAMILY. 305 
would occasionally eat this weed. In their practice of medicine the 
Indian doctors take grim delight in throwing the hollow stems into 
the fire so that they may explode, and, by virtue of their continued 
crackling, stimulate their patients to renewed vigor. One Yuki 
woman informed me that the plant was a good medicine for sore eyes, 
but the report was not verified, nor was I informed in what way it 
was used. The Little Lake name is shi’-ie. 
TAXACEAE. Yew Family. 
Taxus brevifolia Nutt. 
Vol’-ko (Concow).—The Pacific yew, or “yew” as it is most com- 
monly called. The tree grows sparingly in the deepest cations through- 
out the northernmost parts of this region, a few specimens having 
been seen along the stage road leading from Laytonville to Covelo. 
The wood is remarkably ‘tough and elastic, and for this reason it used 
to be more highly valued than any other for making the strongest 
bows. The Indians about Ukiah informed me that they used to pur- 
chase yew wood from the Pitt River Indians of northeast California. 
Very few of these bows are now owned by the Indians. 
The bright red, fleshy berry is edible, hut the seed is considered 
poisonous. 
Tumion californicum (Torr.) Greene. 
H@'-hé(Yokia).—The California nutmeg, asmall tree which has much 
the same appearance as a young redwood, from which it may, how- 
ever, be readily distinguished by its larger, sharp-pointed leaves, its 
olive-like fruit, and its white or straw-colored wood. The name nut- 
meg was applied to the tree on account of the resemblance which a 
cross-section of the kernel of the nut bears to a cross-section of the 
ordinary nutmeg. Since the flavor is also somewhat spicy, the nut 
might easily be mistaken for that of the nutmeg. The tree is common 
in deep canyons in the southern part of the county, 
The yellow or reddish membrane which lies between the shell and 
the kernel, and passes into the white substance by deep convolutions, 
is bitter and very astringent; the kernel itself is rich and oily, tasting 
somewhat like cocoanut. When the whole nut is well roasted, how- 
ever, it has a very agreeable aromatic taste somewhat like that of pea- 
nuts. These nuts are highly esteemed for food by the Indians, and 
they are sometimes gathered in considerable quantity. An assay 
made by the writer showed that over half of the kernel is composed 
of an oilt that could probably be used in cooking. An oil which is 
used for this purpose is obtained in Japan from the nuts of another 
species of the same genus. 
1For the phy sical ‘and chemical constants of this oil see w paper by W. C. Blasdale, 
Journal of the American Chemical Society, vol. 17, pp. 985 to 941, 1895, 
6703—No. 3—01—2 
