wards of 6oft. in height. In 1892 the head was still unbroken, 

 and about the same height, and with a spread of foliage of about 

 70 yards in circumference. At 3ft. from the ground it girthed 

 1 8ft., which gives about' ift. in diameter in one hundred years — 

 a very slow rate." The girth of this tree when I measured it 

 in October, 191 5, was 18ft. 4m., the height about 60ft., while 

 the diameter of the ground covered by the branches was 70ft. It 

 is stated that the church( or possibly a chantry) at Brockenhurst 

 is mentioned in Domesday. It was built on an artificial mound on 

 the top of a hill, to serve as a landmark in the forest. After 

 describing the church, Wise says: " Behind it in the churchyard 

 spreads the gloom of a yew which from the Conquerer's day to 

 this hour has darkened the graves of generations." 



A venerable looking yew in the churchyard at Wimborne 

 St. Giles measured 22ft. in girth. I can find no authentic records 

 of this tree. At Tisbury, on the borders of Wilts, there is a very 

 old yew of which an illustration is given both by Dr. Lowe and 

 by Elwes and Henry. Elwes measured it in 1903 and made it 

 about 45ft. high and 35ft. in girth. He said it was a female tree, 

 but of its age it was impossible to form a correct estimate. It is 

 in fine foliage, although the trunk is quite hollow. In 1834 the 

 tree was entered by a rustic gate, and seventeen persons were 

 said to have breakfasted in its interior. There must have been 

 some considerable internal growth since 1834, f° r * n l &97 ft was 

 said that only nine persons could stand inside. The Rev. E. F. 

 Linton, F.L.S., has kindly obtained for me measurements made 

 by the Rector of Breamore of a venerable yew tree in Breamore 

 Churchyard. At 5ft. from the ground the girth was 34ft. It is 

 divided into many segments and portions here and there have dis- 

 appeared. 



What is known as the Irish yew is a singular form of the 

 common yew found wild on the hills near Florence Court in Ireland 

 in 1767. This grows in a columnar form with the habit of a 

 Lombardy poplar. It has been propagated entirely by cuttings, 

 so that all the Irish yews in all temperate parts of the globe have 

 been derived from this one plant. Sir Herbert Maxwell remarks 

 at best, the Irish or Florence yew is a funereal subject, and a more 

 cheerful effect may be obtained by planting other trees. At Avon 

 Castle, for instance, there is an exceptionally attractive series of 

 the golden and glaucous form of Lawson's cypress and the 

 Monterey cypress all of columnar habit and in excellent condition. 

 One of these is 42ft. high. 



Ginkgo, or Maiden=Hair Tree. 



The Ginkgo is a deciduous tree which is regarded as some- 

 what distantly related to the yew. It is probably a native of 

 Western China, but as a sacred tree it is now chiefly found in the 

 neighbourhood of temples in China and Japan. It is a beautiful 

 tree. The light green fan-shaped leaves suggest a gigantic 

 maiden-hair fern. As the fruit and leaves, found in a fossil state 



