292 A MANUAL OV THE OONIFERJJ. 



limits of the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere, over which 

 it is sparingly spread. Preferring elevated situations often to an 

 altitude of from 4,000 to 5,000 feet, it nowhere forms a continu- 

 ous forest like many members of the Fir and Pine Tribe, and even 

 when plentiful it is mixed with other trees. On English Downs it 

 is sometimes found solitary, forming a conspicuous object from afar; 

 and generally in its wild state in this country, it is observed to be 

 more frequent on the north slopes of rising ground than on any 

 other aspect, and not ■ unfrequently in the shade of deciduous 

 trees. Occasionally it is met with in groups, or forming small 

 groves unmixed with other trees. 



One of the most remarkable of the Yew groves occurs on Mickle- 

 ham Downs, near Leatherhead, in Surrey, on the estate of A. Dickson, 

 Esq., of Cherkley Court. Here an extensive area is covered with 

 Yews, almost unmixed with other trees and shrubs, except a few 

 Junipers scattered here and there through the grove. The aspect of 

 some of these Yews is peculiar and even beautiful. Groups of from 

 five to a dozen may be seen with their trunks in close proximity to 

 each other, forming a dense copse or clump, and each tree being 

 thickly furnished with branches from the ground on the side freely 

 exposed to the air, the group has the appearance of being one tree of 

 gigantic dimensions. In one part of the grove, a considerable space 

 is completely covered with Yews, all of which, except the outside trees, 

 have lost their lower branches, those remaining on the trees being 

 confined to the tops only, and with their foliage forming a dense 

 canopy impervious to the sun's rays, the interior being lighted only at 

 distant intervals by small openings in the thick foliage. On entering 

 the thicket the aspect is weird and sombre, and when in winter the 

 tops of the trees are covered with a thick coating of snow, and the 

 diminished light takes a hazy yellowish hue, the appearance of the 

 interior causes an indescribable feeling of depression and gloom. 



"There is a famous clump of Yews at Kingsley Vale, on the 

 South Downs, near Chichester, and another on the North Downs in 

 a slight hollow of the hill, near Guildford. Numerous great Yews 

 here stand in a natural park or wood opening, among Hawthorns 

 and several indigenous shrubs, Holly, Furze, Blackthorn and Crab 

 with Butcher's Broom beneath. This retired covert, forming part of 

 the primeval forest, is blameless at present of a foreign tree."* 



On the continent of Europe the Yew is more or less common 

 in all the mountain and hilly districts, from the Mediterranean to 

 * H. Evershed, in Gardeners' Chronicle, 1876, vol. vi., p. 99. 



