THE YEW IN A COLD CLIMATE. 149 



in those situations where by reason of too much cover 

 trees are apt to become feeble, and have but scanty 

 foliage, doing well amongst deciduous trees, if it can 

 only have a cool moist soil. It can be trimmed and 

 cut into any shape, hedges being formed by it of such 

 impenetrable thickness that small birds even cannot 

 pass readily through it. 



As an ornamental tree for a lawn in a cold climate, 

 the yew is possessed of several advantages, as it is 

 not injured by the wind, or by frosts in winter, while 

 its rich dark foliage offers a bold contrast to that of 

 other trees. 



The yew is remarkable for its slow growth, plants 

 of five years of age generally not averaging more than 

 a foot in height, while at ten years of age they seldom 

 exceed three feet, though it will ultimately attain the 

 dimensions of a timber tree, and range from forty 

 to fifty feet in height. 



It is found indigenous throughout Britain and in 

 most parts of Europe, the practice of planting them 

 in churchyards being one of great antiquity. It is 

 propagated by its berries, that become ripe in 

 autumn, which it is customary to wash, and clean 

 from the pulp surrounding them. They are then 

 mixed with three times their bulk of sand for a year 

 or fourteen months, according to the time of sowing, 

 and planted in winter or early spring. A rich loamy 

 soil is necessary, but one which will not cake and 

 become hard on its surface. The seed should be 

 covered with about half an inch depth of soil, and 

 sown of a thickness to insure the plants standing 

 about two inches apart from each other, the crop 

 coming up very irregularly. As the seedlings suffer 



