THE YBW 
63 
matter has given rise to much discussion | 
as to the season or the special conditions j 
under which the tree becomes so deadly, j 
but from first to last there is ample ' 
evidence to show that the Yew is the 
most fatal poison of all the plants in 
our land. Some years ago I planted a 
large group of Yew on a bank and 
fenced it in with iron, but one night a 
grocer's horse that came in was attached 
to the iron fence, and, being a tall 
animal was able to crop the shoots. It 
was dead within fifteen minutes of get- 
ting back to its stable, about a mile 
away. A friend in Lincolnshire had 
some Yew trees in the middle of a 
large wood, into which a number of 
young stock broke one night ; — forty 
of them were found sick in the morning, 
and many of them died. Mr Scott of 
Burwash also mentions a case near 
Robertsbridge, in Sussex. A number 
of valuable horses, brought to the fair, 
were turned out to spend Sunday in a 
field belonging to the owner oi the inn. 
This field was bounded on one side by 
the shrubbery sheltering a garden, and 
the Yew trees overhung the fence. 
These conditions had prevailed for 
years; stock had always been pastured 
in the field, and there had been many 
fresh animals sent into it from time to 
time, and yet v/ithin memory no case of 
poisoning had occurred. The time came, 
however, when the presence of theYew 
led to disaster, for after the horses had 
been in the field a few hours, the place 
resembled a bloodless battlefield, being 
strewn with dead and dying horses. 
The now common way of scattering 
Yew hedges round country houses is 
Increase. 
most dangerous. When thus recklessly 
exposed it is impossible to guard against 
accident. We, who seek the forest tree, 
are the least likely to be troubled in 
this way, but no one can be too careful. 
In selecting Yew plants 
where timber is the object in 
view, Selby says that "attention should 
be given to the habit of the young trees, 
and those should be preferred which 
show a strong and upright tendency, 
with broad healthy leaves ; for out of 
a bed of seedlings there are always 
some which, instead of advancing up- 
wards, or throwing their main growth 
into the leading stem, expend their 
strength upon the side branches. The 
Yew is best propagated from seeds, and, 
as the berries are produced in great 
abundance, there is seldom any difii- 
culty in obtaining a good supply, if 
only the trees are protected from birds 
of the Thrush tribe while the fruits ripen. 
After gathering, they may be either 
sown at once in their pulp, or be kept 
in sand during the winter in order to 
rot off the enveloping matter, and sown 
;prmg 
in each of these cases the 
plant makes its appearance the second 
year, whereas il the pulp is allowed to 
dry round the nuts, and these are kept 
in that state till the following spring, 
none of them will vegetate till the third 
year. After remaining in the seed bed 
a couple of years they should be planted 
in rows, and undergo the usual routine 
of the nursery till they are 2 feet high . 
The Yew may also be raised from 
cuttings, which strike pretty readily 
when slipped with a heel and run into 
soil chiefly consisting of sand, and 
