propagated by layers; and there are plants of it at Messrs. Loddiges's. It appears to be nothing more than a stunted variety of the common yew, and to be identical with the T. canadénsis of Willdenow, and the T. b. minor of the elder Michaux; but, as we have only seen small plants of it and of T. canadensis, we have thought it worth while to keep the latter separate for the present.

T. b. 4 erécte, the upright yew, is a seedling from T. b. fastigiàta, in which the leaves are 2-ranked as in the common yew, but the branches take an upright direction as in the Irish yew. There is a plant in the Horticultural Society's Garden.

■ T. b. 5 fòlüs variegatis Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836, has the leaves variegated with whitish yellow. It is seldom found higher than a large shrub. It is propagated by layers or cuttings, either of the ripened wood put in in autumn, or of the newly formed wood put in in July, and treated like the cuttings of Cape heaths.

T. b. 6 fructo luteo. This variety appears to have been first discovered by Mr. Whitlaw of Dublin, about 1817, or before, growing on the demesne of the Bishop of Kildare, near Glasnevin; but it appears to have been neglected till 1833, when Miss Blackwood discovered a tree of it in Clontarf churchyard, near Dublin. Mr. Mackay, on looking for this tree in 1837, found no tree in the churchyard, but several in the grounds of Clontarf Castle; and one, a large one, with its branches overhanging the churchyard wall, from which he sent us specimens. The tree does not differ, either in its shape or foliage, from the common yew; but, when covered with its berries, it forms a very beautiful object, especially when contrasted with yew trees covered with berries of the usual coral colour. Other Varieties may be selected from beds of seedlings; and it appears that a kind with shorter and broader leaves than usual was formerly propagated in the nurseries. The yew tree, in some situations, is found with spreading branches, not unlike those of a very old spruce fir, and having the spray drooping; but whether this is a true variety, or only a variation, is uncertain. A portrait of a tree of this description, now growing in the garden of J. F. M. Dovaston, Esq., at West Felton, near Shrewsbury, will be found in a future page. If the appearance of Mr. Dovaston's tree, which is monœcious, be permanent, it well deserves propagation, both on account of its pendulous shoots, and because it is monœcious. Ortega states that the yew, which grows wild in different parts of Arragon, flowers in May, June, and July, and ripens its fruit in November; from which it would appear to be a different variety from that of central and northern Europe; because the difference of time between the flowering of the common yew in Paris and Stockholm does not exceed a month. Gleditsch thinks there may be two species; one indigenous to the south of Europe, and the other to the north; founding his opinion upon the circumstance of some_plants being much more tender than others. This is the case even in France, where, according to Du Hamel, many yews were destroyed by the severe frost of 1709; and, according to Malesherbes, many died in his plantations in the winter of 1789. In every case where plants are raised from seed, there will be different degrees of hardiness, as well as variations in other respects; and hence, in a severe season, all the tenderer varieties of an indigenous species may be killed, while all the hardy ones stand uninjured. Description, &c. The yew tree rises from the ground with a short but straight trunk, which, at the height of 3 ft. or 4 ft., sends out numerous spreading branches, forming a dense head, usually, when full grown, from 30 ft. to 40 ft. in height; and always characterised, till the tree attains a great age, by the tuftings and sky outline being pointed or peaked; though, after the tree has begun to decay, these become rounded or stag-headed. The trunk and branches are channeled longitudinally, and are generally rough, from the protruding remains of shoots which have decayed and dropped off. The bark is

smooth, thin, of a brown colour, and scales off, like that of a platanus; the leaves are scattered, nearly sessile, dichotomous (that is, in two lateral rows), linear, entire, very slightly revolute, and about 1 in. long; dark green, smooth and shining above; paler, with a prominent midrib, beneath; terminating in a small harmless point. Flowers axillary, solitary, each from a scaly imbricated bud; the male ones light brown, white with abundant pollen; and the female ones green, resembling, with their scaly bracteas, a little acorn. The stamens vary from 5 to 10, and the divisions of the anthers from 4 to 8. Fruit drooping, consisting of a sweet, internally glutinous, scarlet berry, open at the top, enclosing a brown oval nut, unconnected with the fleshy part. Sometimes this nut is longer than the fleshy cup in which it is embedded; in which case it has the appearance of a small acorn; but, in general, the point of the nut is lower than the rim of the cup. The nut contains a kernel, which is eatable, and has an agreeable flavour like those of the stone pine. The yew is of slow growth; but, in favourable situations, it will attain the height of 6 ft. or 8 ft., or more, in 10 years from the seed. In 20 years, it will attain the height of 15 ft., and it will continue growing for 100 years; after which it becomes comparatively stationary, but will live for many centuries. When drawn up by other trees, or by being planted in masses, it takes somewhat the character of a fir; and may be found, thus circumstanced, with a clear trunk 30 ft. or 40 ft. high. It stoles when cut down under 20 or 30 years of age, but rarely when it is older. The largest tree which we have heard of in England is in the churchyard at Harlington, near Hounslow, where it is 58 ft. high, with a trunk 9 ft., and a head 50 ft. in diameter; and the oldest are at Fountains Abbey, where they are supposed to have been large trees at the time the abbey was founded, in 1132. Fig. 1983. is a portrait of one of these trees, to a scale of 1 in. to 50 ft.; and a portrait of another, to a larger scale, will be given in a future page.

Geography. The yew is indigenous to most parts of Europe, from north lat. 580 to the Mediterranean Sea; and also to the east and west of Asia; and on the supposition that T. canadénsis is only a variety of T. baccata, which we believe to be the case, the common yew is also a native of North America, in Maryland, Canada, and other places. In a wild state, it is confined to shady places, such as the north side of steep hills, or among tall deciduous trees; and is always found on a clayey, loamy, or calcareous soil, which is naturally moist. It sometimes grows in the clefts of dry rocks, but never on sandy plains; and hence it is wanting in the Russian empire, except on the mountains of the Crimea, and in Caucasus. It is found in every part of Britain, and also in Ireland: on limestone cliffs, and in mountainous woods, in the south of England; and on schistous, basaltic, and other rocks, in the north of England: and, in Scotland, it is particularly abundant on the north side of the mountains near Loch Lomond. In Ireland, it grows in the crevices of rocks, at an elevation of 1200 ft.; but at that height it assumes the appearance of a low shrub. According to Templeton, it is rarely, if ever, found there in a state which can be considered truly wild. The yew is rather a solitary than a social tree; being generally found either alone, or with trees of a different species. In England, and also, as Pallas informs us, on Caucasus, it grows under the shade of the beech, which few other evergreens will do.

History, &c. The yew, and its use for making bows, are mentioned by the earliest Greek and Roman authors; and its poisonous properties are pointed out by Dioscorides, Nicander, Galen, Pliny, and others. Theophrastus says (lib. ii.) that the leaves will poison horses. Cæsar mentions that Cativulces, king of the Eburones, poisoned himself with the juice of the yew. (De Bell. Gall., lib. iv.) Suetonius asserts that the Emperor Claudius published an edict, stating that the juice of this tree had a marvellous power in curing the

bite of vipers. Plutarch says that it is venomous when it is in flower, because the tree is then full of sap; and that its shade is fatal to all who sleep under it. Pliny adds to the above, that the berries of the male yew are a mortal poison, particularly in Spain; and that persons have died, who have drunk wine out of casks made of the wood. (Lib. xvi. cap. 10.) Also, that, according to Sextius, in Arcadia it was death to lie beneath the shade of the yew. In more modern times, Mathiolus and J. Bauhin were the first to prove, by positive facts, the poisonous nature of the leaves of the yew; but Father Schoot, a Jesuit, asserted that, if the branches of the tree were dipped in stagnant water, their poison became neutralised. Gerard and L'Obel soon afterwards discovered that the fruit of the yew might be eaten with perfect safety, and that there was no danger in sleeping beneath the shade of the tree. The yew was formerly much valued in Britain, on account of the use made of its wood for bows, this weapon being that principally used by the ancient Britons in all their wars. It was fatal to several British kings; viz., Harold,

at the battle of Hastings; William Rufus, in the New Forest; and Richard Cœur de Lion, at Limoges, in France. It was to the skill of the English with the long bow that the conquest of Ireland by Henry II., in 1172, is attributed; and afterwards the victories of Cressy, Poictiers, and Agincourt. In 1397, Richard II., holding a parliament in a temporary building, on account of the wretched state of Westminster Hall, surrounded his hut with 4,000 Cheshire archers, armed with tough yew bows, to insure the freedom of debate. (Pennant's London, ed. 3., p. 39.) Statutes were passed by many of our early British sovereigns forbidding the exportation of yew wood, and obliging all Venetian and other carrying ships to import 10 bow-staves with every butt of Malmsey or other wine; and, by the 5th of Edward IV., every Englishman dwelling in Ireland was expressly ordered to have an English bow of his own height, made of yew, wych hazel, ash, or awburne; that is, according to some, l'aubour, or the laburnum, which was as much used on the Continent for making bows as the yew was in Britain (see p. 590.); or, according to others, the alder. "As for brasell, elme, wych, and ashe," says Roger Ascham, "experience doth prove them to be mean for bowes; and so to conclude, ewe of all other things is that whereof perfite shootinge would have a bowe made." The last statute that appears in the books, respecting the use of yew for bows, is the 13th of Elizabeth, c. 14., which directs that bow-staves shall be imported into England from the Hanse Towns, and other places. In Switzerland, where the yew tree is scarce, it was formerly forbidden, under heavy penalties, to cut down the tree for any other purpose than to make bows of the wood. The Swiss mountaineers call it William's tree, in memory of William Tell.

The custom of planting yew trees in churchyards has never been satisfactorily explained. Some have supposed that the yew trees were placed near the churches for the purpose of affording branches on Palm Sunday; others, that they might be safe there from cattle, on account of their value for making bows; others, that they were emblematical of silence and death; and others, that they were useful for the purpose of affording shade or shelter to those who came too soon for the service. The subject has occupied the attention of various writers; of whom the last who has taken a comprehensive view of it is J. E. Bowman, Esq., F.L.S., from whose article, in the Magazine of Natural History, vol. i., new series, we give the following abridged abstract :— Many reasons have been assigned for the frequent occurrence of the yew in our churchyards: but it seems most natural and simple to believe that, being indisputably indigenous, and being, from its perennial verdure, its longevity, and the durability of its wood, at once an emblem and a specimen of immortality, its branches would be employed by our pagan ancestors, on their first arrival here, as the best substitute for the cypress, to deck the graves of the dead, and for other sacred purposes. As it is the policy of innovators in religion to avoid unnecessary interference with matters not essential, these, with many other customs of heathen origin, would be retained and engrafted

on Christianity on its first introduction. It would indeed be surprising, if one so innocent and so congenial to their best feelings were not allowed, as a tribute to departed worth or friendship, under that new and purer system, which confirmed to them the cheering prospect of a reunion after death with those who had shared their pleasures and affections here. History and tradition concur in telling us that this was the case, and that the yew was also closely connected, in the superstitions of our simple forefathers, with ghosts and fairies.

"In the works of a very ancient Welsh bard, we are told of two churches renowned for their prodigious yew trees:

'Bangor Esgor, a Bangeibyr Henllan
Yssid er clodvan er clyd Ywyz ;'

which Dr. Owen Pugh thus translates:-The Minster of Esgor, and that of Henllan, of celebrity for sheltering yews.' Henllan signifies an old grove; thus proving that its church stood where druid worship had been performed. Can we, then, longer doubt the real origin of planting yew trees in our churchyards? If it be said that this usual, though not natural, situation of the yew tree proves the venerable specimens which we find in churchyards not to be older than the introduction of Christianity, it may be replied, that our earliest Christian churches were generally erected on the site of a heathen temple, and that at least one motive for placing churches in such situations would be their proximity to trees already sacred, venerable for size, and indispensable in their religious rites. That these rites were performed, and altars erected, in groves, from the remotest antiquity, we know from the Pentateuch. The devotions and sacrifices of Baal among the Moabites, and the idolatrous rites of the Canaanites and other tribes of Gentiles, were performed in groves and high places. The druids chose for their places of worship the tops of wooded hills, where, as they allowed no covered temples, they cleared out an open space, and there erected their circles of stone. Many of the remote Welsh churches are on little eminences among wooded hills. Mr. Rootsey of Bristol has suggested that our words kirk and church might probably have originated in the word cerrig, a stone or circle of stones; the first churches having been placed within these circular stone enclosures. Hence also, perhaps, caer, a camp, which word is used in some parts of Wales for the wall round a churchyard. Dr. Stukeley believes that round churches are the most ancient in England. A circle was a sacred symbol among the Eastern nations of antiquity; and it would be interesting to know whether the raised platform within a circle of stones, which is sometimes found round our old yews, as in Darley and Llanfoist churchyards, be not a remnant of this superstition. Many of the first Christian churches were built and intertwined with green boughs on the sites of druidical groves. When Augustine was sent by Gregory the Great to preach Christianity in Britain, he was particularly enjoined not to destroy the heathen temples, but only to remove the images, to wash the walls with holy water, to erect altars, &c., and so convert them into Christian churches. These were the designata loca Gentilium, in which our converted ancestors performed their first Christian worship. Llan, so general a name for towns and villages in Wales, is a corruption of the British llwyn, a grove; and, strictly, means an enclosure, rather than a church, the places so designated being, probably, the earliest-inhabited spots, and also those where religious rites would be celebrated. (See p. 1717.) Eglwys means a Christian church (ecclesia); and, probably, those were so called which were first erected after the introduction of Christianity, and not on the site of a heathen temple." (Mag. Nat. Hist., 2d series, vol. i. p. 87.)

The Rev. W. T. Bree, in the Magazine of Natural History, vol. vi. p. 48., also suggests the probability of churches having been built in yew groves, or near large old yew trees, as greater than that of the yew trees having been planted in the churchyards after the churches were built. A consecrated yew (according to a table quoted in Martyn's Miller, and taken from the ancient laws of Wales,) was worth a pound, while a wood yew tree was worth

only fifteen pence; a circumstance which renders it probable that some particular ideas of sanctity were attached to the churchyard yews, and that they only were employed in religious ceremonies.

The history of the yew, as a garden tree, is involved in obscurity. There is no evidence that it was used, either for hedges, or for being clipped into artificial shapes, by the Romans; and, therefore, it is probable that it was first so employed in the west of Europe, and, in all probability, in France. In England, clipped yews, whether as hedges or garden ornaments, were not common in the early part of Evelyn's time; for that author claims, "without vanitie," the merit of having been the first who brought the yew "into fashion, as well for defence [meaning in hedges], as for a succedaneum to cypress, whether in hedges or pyramids, conic spires, bowls, or what other shapes; adorning the parks or larger avenues with their lofty tops, 30 ft. high, and braving all the effects of the most rigid winter, which cypress cannot weather. I do again," he continues, "name the yew, for hedges, preferable, for beauty and a stiff defence, to any plant I have ever seen." (Hunt. Evel., i. p. 261.) The practice of clipping the yew and other trees into the shapes of animals and geometrical forms seems to have been most prevalent from the time of Charles I. to the latter end of William III., when it gradually gave way. Bradley, writing in 1717 (New Improvements, p. 72.), says of the yew,—“I have seen great varieties of figures, very well represented, of men, beasts, birds, ships, and the like; but the most common shapes which have been given to the yew by gardeners are either cones or pyramids." He prefers the yew for clipping into forms of animals, on account of the smallness of its leaves; adding that "the holly, and other broad-leaved evergreens, are not fit for being cut into any nicer figures" than pyramids, balls, or a straight stem with a top like the cap of a mushroom. Switzer, writing about the same time as Bradley, ventures to doubt the beauty of these figures; but the final blow was given to them in the time of Queen Anne, by Bridgman, in Richmond Park; and by Pope, in a paper in the Guardian, vol. ii. No. 174. The yew still continues to be clipped in the form of hedges; and in some places, for example in some of the college gardens at Oxford, these hedges exhibit niches, arcades, and pilasters. There are a few very old gardens in England, such as at Wroxton, near Banbury, Stanstead, near Chichester, and Leven's Grove, in Westmoreland, where the yew may still be seen cut into singular shapes, as ornaments to regularly clipped hedges, and to ancient flower-gardens. The effect of these is so striking and singular, that we are surprised the taste has not, to a certain extent, been revived. This, we have no doubt, it will be, in the gardens to Gothic and Elizabethan villas, as soon as men exercise their reason in matters of this kind, and do not allow themselves to be led indiscriminately by fashion.

It may be mentioned, as a historical fact connected with the yew, that De Candolle has adopted this tree as a sort of standard by which to determine the age of trees generally, from the number of layers of wood in their trunks. The reasons why he preferred the yew appear to be, that of this tree there are a greater number of authentic records of the age of individual specimens than in the case of most other trees; because the tree is very generally distributed throughout Europe; and, finally and chiefly, because the wood is of slower growth and greater durability than that of any other European tree. De Candolle, in his Physiologie Végétale, tom. ii. p. 974. and 1001., and also in an article published in the Bibliothèque Universelle de Genève, says that measurements of the layers of three yews, one of 71, another of 150, and a third of 280 years old, agreed in proving that this tree grows a little more than one line annually in diameter in the first 150 years, and a little less from 150 to 250 years. He adds, "If we admit an average of a line annually for very old yews, it is probably within the truth; and, in reckoning the number of their years as equal to that of the lines of their diameter, we shall make them to be younger than they actually are." The justness of Professor De Candolle's conclusion has been questioned by Professor Henslow, and other