Introduction 3 



Putting aside what may be considered merely 

 sentimental views concerning the yew, it has an 

 intrinsic value which has not in modern times 

 received the recognition it deserves. In earlier 

 days there were special enactments for the culture 

 and protection of the yew. From the time of 

 Edward iv. to a somewhat late period in the reign 

 of Elizabeth, these Acts continued in force, renewed 

 by each successive sovereign, and it was not until 

 the latter reign, when fire-arms came into more 

 general use, that less consideration was paid to 

 the long-bow. The last Statute issued with regard 

 to the use of bows is the i3th Elizabeth (cap. 

 xiv.), which orders that bow-staves shall be im- 

 ported into England from the Hanse towns and 

 other places. The hard, close-grained, tough and 

 durable nature of the wood fit it for many useful 

 purposes. It is not unlikely that its comparative 

 scarceness is the sole reason for its disuse. Were 

 it more largely planted, in districts where other 

 trees cannot succeed, it would, in the space of sixty 

 or seventy years, yield a supply of material valuable 

 for many purposes for which other foreign and 

 costly woods are now employed, and thus would 

 add considerably to the internal resources of the 

 country. Its varied uses are treated of subse- 

 quently. There is another point on which this 

 tree has not received due appreciation, at any rate 

 in recent times, viz., its value in landscape and 



