NOVEMBBE, 1910 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



173 



M 



English yew at Brockeiihurst Park. Hants, showing the rich texture and dark, glossy foliage 



as it does on the Pacific Coast, and I doubt 

 whether any Pacific Coast tree will ever be 

 as hardy in the east as the Japanese yew. 

 Caution to collectors: The true California 

 yew (T. brevifolia) is hard to get. What the 

 nurserymen generally call T. brevifolia 

 is a dwarf variety of the English yew 

 (T. baccata, var. nana), as you can tell 

 by the straight leaf. The true T. brevi- 

 folia has somewhat sickle-shaped leaves, 

 which are rarely straight. 



A word to people who love to import 

 the most precious novelties and rarities 

 of the Old World. Beware of all varieties 

 of Taxus baccata. I have seen most of 

 them and studied all of them as described 

 in the best book on yew, and there is not 

 one I dare recommend — except Taxus 

 repandens, a lovely plant which has done 

 very well in a few places here. I can 

 quickly analyze all those varieties of 

 English yew. Some are of erect habit, 

 some spreading, others weeping; many 

 are variegated, and there are some with 

 yellow fruit. But even at their best they 

 are only specimens to be used in a small 

 way; they can never rival the common 

 old English yew for height and dignity, 



nor the Japanese yew for garden hedges. 

 Golden, silver, pendulous, columnar, 

 dwarf, and heath-like yews are obviously 

 of comparatively small value, even in 

 Europe. 



The most famous of them all is the 

 Irish or Florence Court yew {T. bac- 

 cata, var. fastigiata, but known to nur- 

 serymen as T. Hibernica). Its tendency 

 toward columnar habit is striking, but 

 the essence of its popularity is its greater 

 showiness, which is due to the very long 

 leaves (often i3^ inches). It grieved 

 me to see it over-planted in England, 

 but it is natural that beginners should 

 plant Irish yew and Irish ivy simply be- 

 cause they are showier than the good 

 old British originals. Another reason why 

 the Irish yew is so unnatural in appear- 

 ance is that the leaves are spirally arranged 

 in tufts, or else scattered along the branch- 

 lets — not in two rows as in the English 

 yew. 



A word of caution to all. The berries 

 of yew are not poisonous, but the leaves 

 are deadly. English people never like 

 to plant yew along roadsides, in deer 

 parks or in any place where horses or 



cattle may browse the foliage. Some- 

 times people will thoughtlessly put a 

 spray of foliage in the mouth; it is safer 

 not to. 



The cultivation of yews is simple. 

 They like best a moist, well-drained, 

 sandy loam. They endure shade well, 

 and all but the Japanese yew may actually 

 require it. They are gross feeders, and 

 should therefore be kept as far as possible 

 from flower beds. Plants raised from 

 cuttings are said to grow more slowly 

 than grafted ones. 



The berries of yews are a great attraction. 

 They are soft, scarlet cups, about half- 

 an-inch long. The fruit-producing plants 

 are separate from the pollen-producing 

 plants. English and trailing yew have 

 round berries, but that of the trailing yew 

 is smaller. California yew has an oblong 

 berry. 



Who in America has a hedge of Japanese 

 yew equal to an old hedge of English yew? 

 Who will have the courage to plant one? 

 Many, I hope, for it is only by study, 

 imagination, and courage that we may 

 hope to make America as beautiful as 

 England. 



