Yew ruisuninij. 
703 
very little is known with regard to them in this country. There 
is no special work upon them, nor descriptions of them, except 
perhaps .of a few of them met with occasionally in botanical 
works, as in Withering’s Arrangement of Plants, and in agri- 
cultural encyclopasdias. In France they are ahead of us in this 
matter, as a valuable publication was issued from the Bibiliothdque 
de V Enseignement Agricole in 1887, entitled Bes Plantes Veneneuses 
et des Empoisonnements qitelles determinent, written by M. C. 
Cornevin, Professor at the National Veterinary School. All the 
ordinary poisonous plants which are likely to be injurious to 
farm animals are described, 
and their effect upon these 
as proved by experiments 
is detailed. The descrip- 
tion of yew and its toxic 
qualities is particularly full 
and instructive, and as 
there is nothing of the 
kind known here, a trans- 
lation of its most important 
points may be acceptable 
to stock-owners and others 
interested. 
M. Cornevin describes 
the flowers as of two kinds 
and on separate trees, the 
male flowers being solitary 
in the axils of the leaves, 
with five to eight stamens 
bearing pollen. The female 
flowers are single, axillary, 
and sessile, having at their 
bases scales terminated bv 
*/ 
an ovule, surrounded by a fleshy cup. 
The yew, M. Cornevin says, is classed among the most 
dangerous members of our flora, and though its poisonous pro- 
perties have been lo 2 ig known, the study of its toxic principles 
has not yet been completed. It causes more accidents because 
there is nothing to warn against its poisonous properties. It 
has no strong repellent odour. It does not emit resin like most 
of the conifers, and its shiny green leaves tempt domesticated 
animals especially. Later on will be shown the kinds of 
domesticated animals which are most easily poisoned, and in 
what circumstances poisoning occurs. Much research, M. 
Cornevin states, has been mude as to the parts of the yew that 
