206 OUR FORESTS AND WOODLANDS 
to English bowmen as oak afterwards was to our 
seamen, explains that ‘The “oxic quality was cer- 
tainly in the /iqguor which these good Fellows 
tippl’d out of those Jotiles, 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 Conifere of importance to the forester in 
Britain are those comprised within the family of 
the bietinee, and of these mainly the genera 
of Pines (Pinus), Spruces (Picea), Larches 
(Larix), and Douglas Fir (Pseudorsuga). The 
Silver Firs (dies) are of more value than Hem- 
locks (Tsuga) and Cedars (Cedrus), but of these 
only the common Silver Fir (4. 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 
