128 THE YEW. 



ful were the competitors to fall back upon the 

 ancient material of their renowned instrument. 

 The rings indicating age are in general very plainly 

 seen in the yew, and form a striking illustration of 

 the marvellous antiquity the tree is witness to. We 

 often hear of " railway time " and of " sidereal 

 time ; " the yew-tree helps to enforce upon us the 

 grandeur of the idea of "tree-time/' The vast age 

 attained by individuals is accompanied, as would be 

 looked for, by 'commensurate bulk and girth. In 

 the graveyard attached to Bucklaw church, about a 

 mile from Dover, there is, or was until recently, 

 a yew with a trunk of no less than 24 feet in circum- 

 ference. In Tisbury churchyard, Dorsetshire, there 

 is another, now quite hollow, with an entrance gate 

 on one side, and measuring 37 feet in circum- 

 ference ; while in the churchyard of Fortingal, 

 Perthshire, stand the remains of one which before 

 the trunk fell in, and it became reduced to its pre- 

 sent condition of little more than a shell, measured 

 round about the incredible number of 56 feet. 

 One of the most picturesque of our ancient yews 

 ornaments the churchyard of Darley Dale, Derby- 

 shire. 



No mention of the yew is made in Scripture, 

 though there is reason to believe that it anciently 

 grew upon the mountains of Lebanon, if not there 

 still, since the tree extends far into Central Asia. 

 The Hebrew word<-eres, translated " cedar" in the 



