206 OUR FORESTS AND WOODLANDS 



to English bowmen as oak afterwards was to our 

 seamen, explains that * The toxic quality was cer- 

 tainly in the liquor which these good Fellows 

 tippl'd out of those bottles, not in the nature of 

 the wood' But as there is no poison without its 

 antidote, a brazen wedge driven into the body of 

 the tankard counteracted this ' veninous quality * 

 of yew wood. 



The Conifers of importance to the forester in 

 Britain are those comprised within the family of 

 the Abietine<e, and of these mainly the genera 

 of Pines (Pinus), Spruces (Picea), Larches 

 (Larix\ and Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga). The 

 Silver Firs (Abies) are of more value than Hem- 

 locks (Tsuga) and Cedars (Cedrus\ but of these 

 only the common Silver Fir (A. pectinata), the 

 chief tree of the Black Forest and the Jura 

 Mountains, could well be grown in Britain, and 

 that only in the warmer portions of central and 

 southern England. And, of course, if placed in 

 unsuitable climatic environment, it has a weakly 

 growth ; it soon becomes liable to attacks of Aphis 

 and to fungous diseases. This has been abundantly 

 shown in the cool climate of the north of Scotland, 

 and it is precisely what one would have expected 



