CHAP. CXI I. Taxa'ce^, ta'xus. '2085 



of a priest in Yorkshire, who, having murdered a virgin who refused to listen 

 to his addresses, cut off her head, and hid it in a yew tree. The tree from 

 thenceforth became holy, and people made pilgrimages to visit it, plucking 

 and bearing away branches of it, believing that the small veins and filaments, 

 resembling hairs, which they found between the bark and wood of the tree, 

 were the hairs of the virgin. Hence, the name of the village, which was then 

 called Houton, was changed to Halifax, which signifies holy hair; and the 

 wealth brought by the pilgrims enabled the inhabitants to build on its site 

 the now famous town of that name. 



Properties and Uses. In a wild state, the yew affords food to birds by its 

 berries ; and an excellent shelter to them during severe weather, and at night, 

 by its dense evergreen foliage, but no insects live on it. By man, the tree 

 has been applied to various uses, both in a living state, and when felled and 

 employed as timber. The wood is hard, compact, of a fine and close grain, 

 flexible, elastic, splitting readily, and incorruptible. It is of a fine orange 

 red, or deep brown ; and the sap wood, which does not extend to a great 

 depth, is white, and also very hard. Where the two woods join, there are 

 generally different shades of red, brown, and white : both woods are suscepti- 

 ble of a very high polish. Varennes de Fenilles states that the wood, before 

 it has been seasoned, when cut into thin veneers, and immersed some months 

 in pond water, will take a purple violet colour ; probably owing to the pre- 

 sence of alkali in the water. According to this author, the wood of the yew 

 weighs, when green, 80 lb. 9 oz. per cubic foot ; and, when dry, 61 lb. 7 oz. 

 It requires a longer time to become perfectly dry than any other wood what- 

 ever; and it shrinks so little in drying, as not to lose above -^-g part of 

 its bulk. The fineness of its grain is owing to the thinness of its annual 

 layers, 280 of these being sometimes found in a piece not more than 20 in. 

 in diameter. It is universally allowed to be the finest European wood for 

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

 cording to Gilpin, are more beautiful than tables of mahogany; and the 

 colour of its root is said to vie with the ancient citron. It is generally em- 

 ployed in the form of veneers, and for inlaid work ; it is also used by the 

 turner, and made into vases, snuff-boxes, musical instruments, and a great 

 variety of similar articles. Both the root and trunk furnish, at their rami- 

 fications, pieces of wood beautifully veined and marbled, which are highly 

 prized. The sap wood, though of as pure a white as the wood of the holly, 

 is easily dyed of a jet black, when it has the appearance of ebony. Where it 

 is found in sufficient quantities to be employed for works under ground, such 

 as water-pipes, 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. That hardy veteran fears 

 neither storms above, nor damps below. It is a common saying among the 

 inhabitants of 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 1796, says that a few of these trees which remained 

 had then " lately been taken down, and the timber of such as were sound was 

 sold to the cabinet-makers, at very high prices, for inlaying : one tree in par- 

 ticular was valued at 100/., and half of it was actually sold for 50/. The 

 least valuable were cut up into gate-posts, which are expected to last for 

 ages : even stakes made from the tops of yew have been known to stand for 

 a number of years." {Plant, and Rur. Orn., ii. p. 396.) In France, the 

 yew is found to make the strongest of all wooden axletrees. The branches 

 furnish stakes and hoops of great durabiUty ; and the young shoots may be 

 employed as ties, or woven into baskets, which, though heavier than those of 

 the willow, will be of many times their strength and duration. Boutcher 

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

 render it even more in demand by the cabinet-maker than it now is ; viz., 

 that " the wooden parts of a bed made of yew will most certainly not be 

 approached by bugs. This is a truth," he adds, " confirmed to me by the 



6 T 4 



