COMMON YEW. 367 



the numerous absurdities of gaudy decoration. In the 

 same manner, a dislike for any particular colour shows 

 a squeamishness which should as little be encouraged. 

 Indeed, when you have only one colour to deal with, 

 as in painting the wainscot of your room, the eye, pro- 

 perly enough, gives a preference to some soft pleasant 

 tint, in opposition to a glaring bold one ; but when 

 colours act in concert, (as is the case in all scenery,) 

 red, blue, yellow, light green, or dingy green are all alike. 

 The value of each consists solely in its agreement with 

 its neighbours." 



Whether as an evergreen undergrowth or as a timber 

 tree, the Yew is well deserving of a cultivation more ex- 

 tended than it has hitherto received. As an underwood, 

 it is in our opinion scarcely inferior to the Holly, and only 

 so in failing to produce those sparkling effects of light 

 which distinguish the larger and more highly glazed dark 

 green foliage of that plant ; in hardihood it is its equal, 

 and it bears, with the same comparative impunity, the 

 drip and shade of many of our loftier deciduous trees, 

 a quality of great importance where an evergreen under- 

 wood is desired. The great value and durable properties 

 of its wood ought also to favour its introduction into our 

 mixed plantations, even where profit is the chief object 

 in view, and we should like to see it supplanting a certain 

 portion of the evergreen Coniferae, generally associated 

 with the deciduous trees ; for, though its progress is slower 

 and a longer time would necessarily be required to bring it to 

 a useful and marketable size, yet the additional value of its 

 wood, in a great measure, would compensate for the tardi- 

 ness of its growth. We may further remark that the Yew, 

 thus situated and fostered by the shelter of surrounding 

 trees, would be drawn up and grow much more rapidly 



