245 



ihroughout the mklJle ages, until the introduction of fiicfjms caused its 

 gradual estiuction. 



\\Tien more peaceful times came in the Yew was turned to another use. 



Retired leisure, 

 That in trim gardens takes his pleasure, 



began to plant yew hedges, such as Evelyn and B;icou delighted in, such as we 



have still a noble example of in the gardens at Holm Lacy. Soon afterwards 



sprang up the strange taste for what in those dnys was called the " topiary 



ait," Le., the art of clipping trees into all sorts of curious and unnatural 



shapes. ;The yew lent itsilf to this purpose admirably ; it bears clipping 



better than perhaps any other tree ; it is not liable to lose branches, as the 



laurel does, and there is no part of the year at which it looks really shabby. 



The gardeners of the age of William III. and Anne revelled in the wonders 



their shears produced : obelisks and pyramids, dragons and peacocks, and, 



if we may trust the humourists of the day, even human figures and historic 



scenes. The taste still lingers in our cottage gardens ; and we may still 



occasionally see a yew putting on the semblance of a column or a pyramid, 



or scooped out into a little arbour, sacred to spiders and earwigs, or — triumph 



of artistic skill! — shooting up into a peacock, with no legs, and with a head 



which shows a strong inclination to spread out in rivalry of its taiL 



It remains that we shouhl notice the size and situation of some of the 

 most remarkable trees in this district. The list will be but brief and imper- 

 fect ; but it contains some trees which would be remarkable anywhere, both 

 for size and beauty, and it shows how generally they are dispersed over the 

 whole iRistriGt. I feel persuaded that further search would very considerably 

 extend the list. But search is necessary, for it is chiefly in the more remote 

 and secluded spots that the finest trees are found. The hand of the improver 

 has spared them most in such places, and allowed their native luxuriance to 

 have fair play. I proceed to notice a few of the largest of them. 



It does not appear that we have any of those giants which are spoken 

 of in Kent and Sussex. The largest I know of in the county is at Peter- 

 church : this is 28 feet in girth, and 66 feet in the spread of its branches 

 from side to side. The trunk of this is partially hollow, and the ends of some 

 of the branches dying, but it is still a noble tree. And here I must be allowed 

 to mention that in measuring the girth of a yew tree it is impossible to fix 

 any definite height above the ground for doing so. We must measure a yew 

 tree where we can, and this for an obvious reason. The trunk of the yew, 

 unlike that of any other large tree, is frequently, indeed generally, so thickly 

 covered with small stiff twigs, that there is no chance of getting through them 

 down to the tree itself, and a s^jot must be found where this obstacle does 

 not occur. 



The next largest Yew tree is not exactly in the county, though very 

 little outside the boundary. It stands in Bockleton Churchyard. Its girth 



