ON THE OLD AND REMARKABLE YEW TREES IN SCOTLAND. 387 



pronounced them to be at least five Imndred years old, adding tliat 

 be could not tell how much more they might be. The church of 

 St Ternan of Arbuthuott, near which they stand, was consecrated 

 by Bishop De Beniham in 1242. It is not at all improbable that 

 they may have been planted about that date. Ko. 1 girths, at 

 one foot from the ground, 8 feet 11 inches; length of bole to first 

 branch, 1 2 feet ; and total height of tree, 4-4 feet. Seemingly 

 at a comparatively early period in the life of the tree, the 

 momentum of the swaying branches, or perhaps the superin- 

 cumbent weight of snowfall on its foliage, had split the main trunk 

 almost to the base. The elasticity of the severed parts, however, 

 had enabled them to recover the perpendicular position, and they 

 have welded themselves together again at several points. The 

 tree is now perfectly healthy, and bears every year a plentiful crop 

 of berries. No. 2 girths, at one foot from the ground, 7 feet 10 

 inches. Height of bole is 10 feet. This tree appears also to have 

 been si)lit at some early period. It has not had the same power 

 of recovering itself as its fellow, being permanently forked at 

 4 feet from the ground. That it did not originally branch there 

 may be inferred from the shape of the opposite parts, which, if 

 they could be forced together, would exactly fit into each other. 

 Many years ago the tree bled severely at the angle of the fork in 

 its stem, which a plaster of cow dung and lime effectually stanched ; 

 and after repeated applications the wound healed, though the tree 

 is not so vigorous and robust as its neighbour. Both trees are 

 exactly the same height, and meet in one at the top. 



At Ochtertyre, Perthshire, there are many very thriving yews of 

 comparatively recent planting, having been introduced within the 

 past hundred years. The evergreens at Ochtertyre are planted in 

 the woods in sections, each species being allotted a separate section 

 for itself, so that the different varieties are brought together, an 

 arrangement both beautiful and useful for comparison. Thus we 

 have large clumps dedicated to varieties of tlie Abies, Picea, and 

 Taxus respectively. Of the last, there is a collection of no fewer 

 than thirty varieties. At the site of the old castle of Inchbrakie, 

 near Crieff, there stands in the moat a fine old yew, girthing 

 10 feet 7 inches at five feet from the ground, and with a dia- 

 meter of spread of branches of about 40 feet. Into this tree it is 

 stated that the Marquis of Montrose, on one occasion when pursued 

 and nearly captured, succeeded in climbing, and found refuge in 

 its umbrageous head. A fine old yew is also growing at Lawers, 



