CONIFERS 147 



high is out of proportion in a garden or on a lawn. (4) Its trunk 

 symbolizes the relation between the mother country and her col- 

 onies and also between the classes in England, for it seems to say, 

 "Socially we divide, politically we are one; in peace we scatter, 

 in time of need we act together." 



But yew has one great drawback. It is poisonous, and there- 

 fore cannot J)e planted where cattle may nibble the foliage, for to 

 eat a spray of it is to die. Consequently, yew is not conspicuous 

 in the landscape, but it is in every one's home grounds; it hedges 

 gardens; it makes stately avenues, as at Hampton Court; it lines 

 walks of beautiful solemnity approaching many an exquisite 

 church; and in the graveyard it is the ever-present symbol of 

 immortality. 



Unfortunately yew is a failure in America north of New York. 

 It exists only in places protected in winter from strong wind and 

 sunshine. Our native yew is what people call "ground hemlock" 

 (Taxus Canadensis), a trailing bush which can be trained as a 

 hedge but hardly as a tree. The real equivalent of the yew, as a 

 lawn tree, is the Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata), because it forms 

 a low, round-headed tree. It has the same red berries, showy in 

 autumn. (Luckily yew berries are not poisonous*.) Moreover, 

 the bark of the Japanese yew is redder and warmer than that of 

 the English yew. The tree is not harmed by zero weather, drying 

 winds, or sudden bursts of sunshine when the ground is frozen, 

 and is hardy even in New England. Possibly it will become our 

 national hedge plant, since it grows faster than trailing yew and 

 holds its lower branches better than hemlock. 



But even if Japanese yew should live for thousands of years 



*Elwes and Henry in their great work, " The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland," state that the seeds and foliage of 

 Japanese yew will probably prove poisonous. 



