THE YEW 
6i 
measure ruined the natural aspect of 
countries by destroying the forest 
growth of previous ages." None the 
less, I doubt the conclusion he draws 
as to its being a disappearing tree, at 
least in our country, though it rarely 
grows as a forest tree. In the cool 
mountain forests of India it attains a 
height of ICQ feet, no doubt owing in 
part to its tall forest companions. Stewart 
and Brandis in their Forest Flora ofhidia 
describe it as abundant in parts of the 
Himalayan region, from the Indus to 
Bhotan, but never reaching into the 
inner, arid zone. By the mountain- 
eers it is held in great veneration as 
" God's Tree," and its wood is burnt 
as incense and the houses are decked 
with its branches at all religious festivals. 
According to Ledebour it is found in 
many parts of northern Russia, extend- 
ing south into the mountains of the 
Caucasus, and Dr Henry tells me that 
it is common in the forests of China. 
Though the quality of 
As a Forest Tree. . i • n 
Its wood IS excellent, 
the Yew gets such poor treatment in 
plantations that planters must wish it 
to be better grown. It is however such 
a danger to stock that it should be put 
well inside a wood. Even there it is not 
safe if cattle can get at it, and thousands 
of cattle in England have been killed by 
eating its branches. If there is any choice 
of ground, it should be planted in rather 
a free soil, although it will grow almost 
anywhere, and it should at first be associ- 
ated rather closely with Larch or some 
other young tree which suits the soil, 
so as to get the tree form as soon as 
maybe. We shouldplantit close enough 
to grow tall, and yet not get starved. 
The Larches or other trees should be 
I cut away in good time and the tree 
i allowed room to grow without destroy- 
: ing the leaf canopy. It has the charm 
of growing upon poor chalky soils where 
few evergreens will live, and also on the 
j cool and moist sides of hills. At first 
I should plant it as close as any young 
forest tree, and alternated with another 
kind so that the little Yews might be 
8 feet apart. As they grew older, 20 
feet apart would not be too much, and 
if the trees grew large they might be 
given still more room. The Yew is such 
a beautiful and welcome covert for 
pheasants that it is worth planting for 
that reason alone. When we get the 
trees with tall stems there is much less 
danger to cattle, as it is the low bush 
that is most dangerous. 
The Yew yields one of the 
most compact and tenacious 
of woods, hard, elastic, close in grain, 
and so durable when well seasoned as 
to outlastiron. It is of rich colour when 
fully matured, ranging from orange-red 
to deep brown, and often finely streaked 
and marbled where the trunk divides, 
while the yellow -white sap wood, 
worked up, is almost as hard as the 
darker layers. The Yew is among the 
best native woods for cabinet work, and 
little inferior to the best foreign timber, 
taking and keeping a high polish for 
many years, and hardly to be told from 
ebony when stained black. The diffi- 
culty is to get it in sufficient quantity 
and size, and its use is therefore mainly 
confined to the making of small articles, 
and thin layers for inlaying. Its resistance 
Wood. 
