248 Yew- Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



as the stems are thickened near their summit, and 

 display over their whole surface a close series of 

 short spurs, varying in diameter from i to 3 inches, 

 and all pointing directly upwards, a condition only 

 produced by pollarding, all ordinary branches being 

 given off at a much larger angle. An incomplete 

 outer ring of growth has formed, and one trunk of 

 a foot in diameter is about 20 feet high. 



3. The second of these trees, on the west, which 

 has a girth of 17 feet at 3 feet from the ground 

 has the original trunk still remaining, and although 

 dead, it is fairly sound. The secondary growth of 

 wood is also dead. A third ring has formed over 

 about one-fourth of this second ring, and has 

 grown into a stem of a foot in diameter, with a fine 

 spreading top. At one other point of the trunk 

 there is an attempt to throw out new branches, 

 but such is the density of the shade that these 

 cannot attain much size. 



Yew-trees at Southmead, Westbury -on-Trim, near 

 Bristol. The late Mr. Badock, in whose grounds 

 these three trees grew, wrote in 1889, 'they are all 

 undoubtedly very old ; one is gradually losing its 

 vigour, but the other two are as fresh and vigorous 

 as any young trees could be. The largest is one 

 of the two latter. Its main stem divides into 

 several branches at 4 feet from the ground, and at 

 this height is about 15 feet in girth. It is 12 feet 

 at the ground level. 



