1884-85.] Edinburgh Naturalists' Field Club. 219 



At one time this tree, as well as the Holly, was often found in 

 gardens clipped into the fantastic geometrical shapes which the 

 fashion of the day demanded. Evelyn gives a long and melancholy 

 list of the dangerous properties of the Yew, some of which, however, 

 he frankly says he does not believe ; yet he quaintly and cautiously 

 adds : " To prevent all funest accidents, I commend the tree only 

 for the usefulness of the timber, and hortulan ornament." The 

 Irish Yew ( Taxus baccata fastigiatct) is a well-known native variety, 

 first found near Florence Court, in Ireland. That the common Yew 

 is a native may surely be conceded, and yet, strangely enough, 

 this has sometimes been disputed, though it is undoubtedly the 

 oldest tree found in Britain. A safe rule has been laid down by an 

 eminent forester, that " all those trees which propagate themselves 

 freely from seed without our agency, and which are known to have 

 existed in our country before the earliest records, are indigenous to 

 it." The Yew fulfils both of these conditions. Many trees are 

 found, for instance — especially in the north of England — growing 

 in inaccessible places, where they must of necessity have been of 

 spontaneous growth. That it has existed " before the earliest 

 records " will appear in the sequel, as we proceed to speak more 

 particularly of what is known as the Fortingall Yew. 



Amongst the numerous Yew-trees in this country which are 

 noteworthy because of their appearance or antiquity, the well- 

 known specimen still growing in the churchyard at Fortingall, 

 Perthshire, is certainly the most remarkable. The following, 

 though of less note, are yet interesting, either because of their vast 

 proportions, their age, or their historical associations. In the New 

 Forest, as well as in the Forest of Dean, a number of Yews still 

 survive whose youth stretches back to the time of William the 

 Conqueror. In Tisbury Churchyard, Dorsetshire, a rather unique 

 specimen is found, its trunk being 37 feet in circumference, the 

 interior hollow, and with a rustic gate to admit visitors. In Buck- 

 land Churchyard, near Dover, there is another with a trunk 24 feet 

 in circumference, which presents a strange appearance from the 

 contorted shape it has assumed while growing. On the estate of 

 the Marquess of Bath, in Wiltshire, there is a grand specimen, known 

 to be upwards of 1000 years old, which is 50 feet high, and with a 

 head 50 feet in diameter. The Brabourne Yew, in Kent, is de- 

 scribed in Evelyn's 'Silva' (1665) as a gigantic ruin, with a trunk 

 60 feet in circumference ; but of this monster growth not a vestige 

 is now remaining. A very large Yew is growing at Inchbrakie, 

 Crieff, which is said to have on one occasion concealed in its 

 branches the Marquess of Montrose. In the county of East 

 Lothian there are two very fine Yews still thriving in a green old 

 age — viz., one at Whittinghame and the other at Ormiston Hall : 

 besides the attraction of their stately proportions, these Yews are 



