44 
TIMBER 
ammonia, the effect of the fumes of which is to darken the 
timber, and this can be done to any required tint ; half a 
pint of ammonia is sufficient for the timber contained in 
a chamber 9 ft. by 6 ft. by 3J ft. A good useful colour 
can be obtained in one night. The process does not raise 
the grain, the wood keeping as smooth as at first ; any 
depth of colour can be given with certainty, and the darker 
shades will penetrate the thickness of a veneer ; American 
red oak does not take the colouring well, English and Eiga 
oak do. The different pieces of wood must be kept 
separate to allow the fumes to act all round and about 
them. 
Common Yew {Taxus haccata) is common in Spain and 
Italy, often seen in English churchyards, and is indigenous 
to Nottinghamshire. It attains a great age, some speci- 
mens having a girth of over 50 ft., but it seldom attains 
a greater height than 30 or 40 ft. The trunk of the yew- 
is in striking contrast to most British trees, for instead of 
one trunk there are what appear to be several, like a sheaf 
of columns growing from the same root. The wood is of 
pale yellowish red colour — some of the older timber is 
darker — fine close grain, tough and elastic, susceptible of 
fine polish, handsomely striped and often dotted like 
Amboyna wood ; annual rings are very narrow and wavy. 
From the yew were made the weapons of the celebrated 
English bowmen of olden times, and it is still employed in 
the manufacture of bows for archery, also of small articles 
of furniture, and occasionally in chair-making. It is a 
hard and exceedingly durable wood, and reckoned almost 
equal to box for tine work. It is often stained black and 
called German ebony. The Irish yew {T. fastigiata) is 
preferred for bows. 
Weight 48 to 50 lbs. per cubic foot. 
