Dr. Walker[1] speaks of the yew as a tree which grows well in the shade of rocks and precipices, especially near the sea-shore. "No timber is planted in Scotland that gives so high a price as that of yew and laburnum." He mentions a yew that grew on a sea-cliff, in the small stormy island of Bernera near the Sound of Mull, which, when cut into logs, loaded a large six-oared boat, and afforded timber to form a fine staircase in the house of Lochnell.
Sir Charles Strickland tells me that yew wood which is occasionally dug up in the bogs and fens of East Yorkshire is of a pinkish grey colour, and the most beautiful English wood he knows, but the samples of it which Henry has procured in Ireland are much darker in colour.
Miss Edwards states that in the Pyrenees water vessels are made of yew wood, which have the property of keeping the water cool in hot weather, and that there is a flourishing manufacture of such vessels bound with brass hoops at Osse.
Marshall is quoted by Loudon to the effect that about 1796 yew trees at Boxhill were cut down and sold to cabinetmakers at high prices for inlaying, one tree being valued at £100, and half of it actually sold for £50. Boutcher says that, from his own experience, bedsteads made of yew wood will not be approached by bugs. Mathieu[2] states that in France the wood is sought for by turners, sculptors, and makers of instruments and toys.
The thin straight shoots of the yew which are cut by gipsies in the south of England make most excellent whip sticks, lighter than, and quite as tough as holly. I believe that yew would also make first-rate handles for polo sticks and golf clubs, though makers of these articles do not as yet seem to have used it.
Boulger[3] says that in the library of the India Office there is a Persian illuminated manuscript on thin sheets of yew, and it also makes very ornamental boards for bookbinding.
As an example of what can be done with yew wood, I may refer to Macquoid's History of English Furniture, where a coloured illustration (plate iv.) is given of an extremely handsome armchair in Hornby Castle, the property of the Duke of Leeds. Macquoid says:—"The date is about 1550. It is made of yew, which adds to its rarity, for up to this time it was practically penal to employ yew wood for any other purpose than the manufacture of the national weapon; in this instance the wood has become close, as hard as steel, and of a beautiful dark amber colour."
At Hatfield House, the historic mansion of the Marquess of Salisbury, the small drawing-room is panelled entirely with yew wood, the doors being also made of fine burry pieces, but the workmanship in this case is not perfect, and the colour of the wood has been spoilt by varnish.
At Dallam Tower, Westmoreland, the seat of Sir Maurice Bromley-Wilson, the staircase is made of yew wood grown on the property.
Trees are occasionally found in which the whole body of the log consists of small burry growths something like that of maple, and when this is mixed with contorted grain of various shades of pink the effect is very good. But such trees
