200 AMERICAN FOREST TREES 



selected where a branch joined the trunk, and serviceable fish hooks 

 were made without any cross grain. They were strong enough to hold 

 the largest fish that ascended the rivers. Sometimes a bone barb was 

 skillfully inserted. The Indians found a further use for this wood as 

 material for canoe paddles. It is so strong that handles can be made 

 small and blades thin without passing the limit of safety. The manu- 

 facture of boat paddles from yew continues. 



More is used for fence posts than for any other one purpose. It is 

 one of the most durable woods known where it must resist conditions 

 conducive to decay. The name yew is said to be derived from a word 

 in a north Europe language meaning everlasting. Yew fence posts are 

 not named in statistics, and it is impossible to quote numbers. Their 

 use is confined to the districts where they grow. 



The manufacturers of small cabinets draw supplies from this wood, 

 but the fact is not mentioned in Pacific states wood-using statistics. It 

 is particularly liked for turnery, such as small spindles used in furniture 

 and in grill work. It takes an exceptionally fine polish, and the wood's 

 great strength makes the use of slender pieces practicable. Experi- 

 ments have shown that this wood may be stained with success, but its 

 natural color is so attractive that there is little need of staining unless 

 the purpose is to imitate some more costly wood. If stained black it is 

 an excellent substitute for ebony. 



Western yew figures little in lumber output. It is not listed in the 

 markets. The few logs which reach sawmills are never again heard of, 

 but probably most of the lumber is disposed of locally to those who 

 need it. The tree is not of good form for saw timber. Burls are said 

 to make beautiful veneer. Trunks are seldom round, but usually grow 

 lopsided. Most of them are too small for sawlogs. The largest are 

 seldom two feet in diameter, and generally not half that large. They 

 are short and branched, the tree often dividing near the ground in 

 several stems. The average tree is scarcely thirty feet high, but a few 

 are twice that. Its growth is very slow. A six-inch trunk is seventy- 

 five or 100 years old, and the largest sizes are from 200 to 350 years. 

 It is evident, therefore, that efforts to grow western yew for commercial 

 purposes will be few. Wild trees will be occasionally cut as long as 

 they last, and they will probably last as long as any of their associates, 

 for they are scattered sparingly over several hundred thousand square 

 miles of country, and some of it rough and almost inaccessible. The 

 best development of the species is in western Oregon, Washington, and 

 British Columbia. 



The leaves of western yew are one-half or five-eighths inch long. 

 The fruit consists of red pulp enclosing a hard seed. Birds devour it 



