conifer.t:. 



279 



The tnanlc of the tree appears to have been the part ehiofly used in Wv-nmkin.; 

 for Roger Ascham m h. " Toxophilus." sayn that the houghs, ,ho,„,h sometin^cH cm- 

 ployed were "knotty and full of priunes," and reconuncndH the archer to provide 

 hunself witli a bow niade from the bole or tnink. The last statute that appears in 

 the books respecting the use of the yews for bows is the VMh of KhV.al.'th, which 

 directs that bow-staves shall be imported into England fron, the Uanse T..wn« and 

 other places. In Switzerland, where the yew tree is scarce, it was forbid.lcn. under 

 heavy penalties, to cut down the tree for any other purpose than to make bows of the 

 ZZ 1VT ''"'" ^^'^'^^^^^^^'-^ ^a" it " William's tree," in memory of William 



iell. Now, when the rifle has taken the place of the bow in the hands of the nritish 

 soldier, and the formidable weapon of our ancestors has become a mere toy, the 

 ancient value of yew is forgotten ; but the wood, though scarce, is not uufrequently 

 employed by the turner and cabinet-maker for their finer work, and, when well veintnl 

 fetches a high price. It is universally all.nved to be the finest iM.n.pean wo^hI f„r 

 cabinet-making purposes. Tables made of yew, when the grain is fine, according to 

 Gilpm, are more beautiful than tables of mahogany, and the c(dour of its root is wii.l 

 to vie with the ancient citron. The sap-wood, though of as pure a white a.s the wood 

 of the holly, is easily dyed of a jet black, when it has the appearance of eljony. 

 Where it is abundant it is valued for works under ground, such as water-piijcs, 

 pumps, piles, &c. The yew will last longer than any other wood. " Where your 

 paling is most exposed either to wind or springs," says Gilpin, "strengthen it with a 

 post of old yew." It is a common saying among the inhabitants of the New Forest, 

 that a " post of yew will outlast a post of iron." Evelyn mentions the yew trees at 

 Box Hill as both numerous and large. Marshall, writing in 170G, says that a few of 

 these trees which remained had then lately been taken down, and the tiinlK-r of such 

 as were sound Avas sold to the cabinet-makers at very high prices for inlaying ; one 

 tree in particular was valued at lOOZ., and half of it was actually sold for 50/. Tlio 

 least valuable were cut up into gate-posts, which are expected to hvst for ages. Even 

 stakes made from the tops of yew have been known to stand fur a number of years. 

 Boutcher mentions one of the uses to which the wood is applicable, which ought to 

 recommend it to all cabinet-makers — that the wooden parts of a bed made of yew 

 will most certainly not be approached by bugs. " This is a truth," he mlds, " con- 

 firmed to me by the experience of trees I had cut down and used myself in that way." 

 The accounts we have of the making of bows in England in early times arc very 

 interesting. In the time of the Saxons, yew bows the height of a man were l)i-onght 

 over by Vortigern, and soon became general, till, according to one of the versifiers of 

 the fifteenth century, the enemies of England in every country, 



" By shafts from bows of bending yew, 

 In streams of ciimson gore paid nature's due." 



Mr. Loudon tells us that in the reign of Henry VII. " Prince Arthur held sport,s of 

 archery at Mile End, when there was created, in jest, a Duke of Shoreditch, and two 

 Marquesses of Clerkenwell and Islington, and an Earl of Pancras. The Duke of 

 Shoreditch was the best archer in the king's guard, and the others the next Ix'st. 

 These dignitaries played their parts like the king and queen on Twelfth Night, and 

 a full detail of the ceremonies will be found in Wood's " Bowman's Glory." In lo-J-t 

 Roger Ascham published his " Toxophilus," a work replete with the quaint learning 

 and involved sentences of the time. He gives directions for choosing a bow, and 

 _ learning the art of using it. Of materials for making the bow, he gives decided 

 preference to the yew. In his time a good bow consisted of a single piece of wootl, 



