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ened by their employment in the back¬ 
ground. The introduction for purposes 
of this kind, instead of offending, may, in 
the exercise of a sound judgment, be made 
to contribute greatly to the general effect, 
and all we have then to guard against is 
their too prodigal use. 
The yew is one of the slowest growing 
trees we have, and a very little attention 
to taking the points of the principal shoots 
off, will keep it in the form of a shrub for 
an almost indefinite time ; treated in this 
way, it is sometimes of value for filling 
between the boles of the trees in distant 
shrubberies, as it will bear the confine¬ 
ment of such a place, and is not affected 
by the drip. On the other hand, if it is 
desired to assume the tree form, the 
greatest care must be taken of the leading 
shoot, for as in the fir tribe, its loss is not 
readily repaired. 
As a hedge-plant in situations where 
a perfect screen from sweeping winds is 
required, the yew would be unrivalled, 
but for its slow growth; it, however, 
bears removing very well even when of 
great age, and this admits of large plants 
being employed, and thus a good edge 
may be formed at once. It bears clipping 
so well, that with attention to its early 
training, every part may be kept verdant 
and equally full from bottom to top : this 
docility under the shears, used to make 
it a great favorite when sculptured 
articles of the kind were fashionable. 
When onee established, the yew hedge is 
more durable than any other, exceeding 
even masonry in the time it will last. It 
should be clipped twice a year, in the 
early part of summer and autumn, and 
will then remain perfect. The twigs and 
leaves are said to be poisonous to horses 
and cows, and therefore access to it 
must be carefully barred against them. 
Sheep and goats eat them without injury, 
but their extremely nauseous taste is suf¬ 
ficient to deter most animals from taking 
a quantity likely to do them harm, unless 
much pressed by hunger. Poultry and 
birds are fond of the berries, and the 
mucilaginous juice is said to be very 
fattening. Thrushes devour a great 
number, and the attempts of a cock 
turkey to raise his unwieldlv body among 
the branches in furtherance of an epi¬ 
curean propensity to these berries, is 
among the most ludicrous examples of a 
gourmand laying aside his pretensions to 
dignity for the gratification of appetite. 
The common yew, T. baccata , has several 
varieties, the most esteemed of which is 
the Irish yew ( baccata fastigiata). This 
is more erect in its growth than the 
common, has larger and darker leaves, 
and is so distinct in general appearance 
as to lead several botanists to adopt it 
as another species. Besides several of a 
local character, there are some others, 
which, by differing greatly from their 
parent, have become widely extended, 
among which we may mention the dwarf 
creeping variety, procumbens, the yellow- 
berried fructo-luteo> and variegata , a va¬ 
riety with striped leaves. The latter is 
an extremely useful plant in ornamental 
shrubberies, as it is quite free from the 
objectionable heavy appearance of its con¬ 
geners, and at the same time retains 
their best qualifications. There are also 
three other species capable of living in 
our climate: these are Harringtonia, 
from Penang; Canadensis , from North 
America; and Makoga, from Japan, all 
valuable trees, and yet scarce in our 
plantations. Yew trees delight in moist, 
rich soils ; they grow best in deep loams 
or clay, but will live where it is much 
drier; they are usually raised from seed, 
or at least the common kinds, which pro¬ 
duce it freely. This is gathered in 
autumn and mixed with sand, to be thrown 
in a heap in a shed, and, after turning 
two or three times, the pulp rots, and in 
spring the stones are sown in light, rich 
earth, being covered about an inch deep. 
Part of the plants come up in the same 
season, and the remainder in that fol¬ 
lowing. The choicer sorts are propa¬ 
gated by cuttings, which may be formed 
of either one or two years’ old wood; 
the terminal shoots of the branches form 
the best, and pieces of about six inches 
in length are to be preferred. These, 
taken off either in April or August, and 
bedded rather thickly into a shaded 
border, form rooted plants in a year. 
They are usually left undisturbed ti l 
two years old, and the removal of those 
