214 



The Garden Magazine, January, 1920 



the English with the longbow, 

 in the hands of archers of won- 

 drous skill? Three English kings 

 met their deaths from the Yew 

 bow, and it was the most popu- 

 lar weapon through the inter- 

 necine War of the Roses. In- 

 deed, in both warfare and the 

 chase it was held in exalted esti- 

 mation long after the invention 

 of gunpowder had paved the 

 way to a complete change in the 

 implements of war. 



IN THE early days of English 

 history there were in force 

 special enactments for theplant- 

 ing and protection of the Yew 

 trees. As far back as the 13th 

 century every person not having 

 a greater revenue than one 

 hundred pence was obligated to 

 have in his possession a bow 

 and arrows, and all such as had 

 no possessions but could afford 

 to purchase arms were com- 

 manded to have a bow with 

 sharp arrows if they dwelt 

 without the royal forests. Since 

 bows were of so great value in 

 warfare it is not strange that 

 English kings should have made 

 strenuous efforts to plant and 

 protect Yew trees and to en- 

 courage the use of bows by various edicts and Acts of Parlia- 

 ment (which also regulated their price), making provision 

 for their importation and forbidding their exportation. 



We find many enactments both for planting and protecting 

 Yew trees, and from the time of Edward IV to quite a late 

 period in the reign of Elizabeth, these Acts continued in 

 force, renewed by each successive sovereign. Not until the 

 reign of the latter, when fire-arms came into more general use, 

 was less consideration paid to the long-bow. An interesting 

 petition from the Commons to Edward IV states that "such 

 bowestaffes as be brought within this Realm, be sett now to 



AN IRISH YEW ON ENGLISH SOIL 



Striking density of surface with consequent beauty of 

 texture are characteristic of Taxus baccata fastigiata 



outrageous prises," and prays 

 that "every tun-tight of mer- 

 chandise as shall be conveyed 

 in every Carik, Galee, or Shipp, 

 iiii bowestaffes be brought, 

 upon pain of forfeiture to your 

 Highness, for lacke of bringing 

 every such bowestaff - vi -s. 

 viii-d." 



And there was ordered in 

 the reign of Richard III, in 

 1483, a general planting of these 

 trees for the use of archers, 

 while in the reign of Queen 

 Elizabeth it was enjoined that 

 Yew trees should be planted in 

 a way to insure their cultiva- 

 tion and protection, and also 

 to guard against cattle being 

 injured by browsing their leaves. 

 The last statute issued with 

 regard to the use of bows is the 

 13th Elizabeth (cap. XIV) which 

 orders that bow-staves shall be 

 imported into England from the 

 Hanse towns and other places. 



n^Hi 



1 PL 



ROUGH Saxon-Norman- 

 Plantagenet to late Tudor 

 times the Yew bow played a 

 famous part in the national life 

 of England, and no English tree 

 has gathered around itself so 

 much historic, poetic, and legen- 

 historical association moreover is 

 Venerable trees still mark the spots 



dary lore as this. Its 

 varied and important, 

 where great events have taken place, and these are associated 

 with the names of historic personages. The Ankerwyke 

 Yew still standing near Staines, witnessed the conference 

 between King John and the English Barons in 1215 A. D. 

 and in sight of this tree the Magna Charta was signed. 

 This Yew is 30 feet in girth of trunk at three feet from the 

 ground, and is probably more than a thousand years old. 

 Under the Loudon Yew in Ayrshire it is said that Bruce 

 bestowed the ancient castle and estate on the Loudon family; 



TWO FORMS OF THE 

 JAPANESE YEW 



On the left the low, shrubby 

 Taxus cuspidata nana, 

 broader than its height. On 

 the right the typical Taxus 

 cuspidata which ultimately 

 becomes a tree such as 

 the next picture shows 



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