A R B O R E T U M
gardeners of the clay in pots and boxes, and trained for a number of years, till
the future required was com|)lcte. Sometimes, as we find hy Gibson, Bradlc)’,
and others, clipped plants of this sort sold as high as five guineas each; and,
in all probability, this high price first led Evelyn to the idea of clipping thc
more hardy yew in situations where it was finally to remain. The narrowness
of the leaves of the yew renders it far less disfigured by clipping tlian even
the box ; and, as it is much hardier than tiie juniper, sliould clipped trees
come again into fashion, there can be no doubt that the yew would be pre-
ferred to all others. As an avenue tree, the yew may be considered suitable
for approaches to cemeteries, mausoleums, or tombs; and,as a single tree, for
scattering in churchyards and burial-grounds. The most extraordinary collection
of yew trees in England, or perhaps in tlie world, is at Elvaston
Castle, near Derby. (See Gard. M ag. for 18-1-1.) The yew will grow on
any soil that is somewhat moist; but it thrives best in loams and clays,
on rock, and in a shady situation. It is propagated for the most part
by seeds ; but the varieties, and also the species, when the object is to
form a hedge of plants of the same dimensions and colour of leaf, as
already mentioned, should be propagated by cuttings or layers from one
plant only. The berries are ripe in October, and should be then ga-
thcred, carried to the rot-heap, and treated in the same manner as liaws.
(See p. 382.) If, however, they are sown immediately, envelopetl in their
pulp, a few of them may come up thc following year, aud the remainder the
second year; but, if the pulp is allowed to dry round the nut, ancl they are
kept in that state till spring, none of them will come up till the third year.
Cuttiuos may be formed of citlier one or two years’ growth, and planted in a
shady border, either in the beginning of April or the end of August. The
cuttings will be most certain of success if slipped off' with a heel, and if t ie
soil consists chiefly of sand. The leaves should be carelully stripped oft the
lower part of the cuttinir, which may be from 7 in. to 10 in. in length, ami
buried to the depth of 5 in. in the soil. Cuttings treated in this manner require
two years before they are sufficiently rooted to be removed. In all probability,
however, if the jioints of the shoots were taken and planted in sand
under a hand-glass, about midsummer, or before, they would produce root.s
the same season, and might be transplanted the following spring. Whether
plants are raised from seeds or cuttings, they ought to undergo the usual routine
of culture in the nursery, till they arc 3 or 4 feet high : because, as they
are of slow growth, time is gained by this practice ; and the yew transplmits
so readily at any age, that there is no more danger of plants fiuling wlicn
transplanted at the height of 6 or 8 feet, than there is when they are only 6 or
8 inches high. At Elvaston Castle, already mentioned, above a hundred yew
trees between 20 ft. and 40 ft. in height have been transplanted ; some of them
brought from a distance of upwards of thirty miles.
» 2. T. ( b . ) canat>f/nsis WUld. The Canada, or North American, Yew.
Identification. WiUd. Sp. Pl., 4. p. 856. ; P ursh Fl. Amor. Sept., 2, p. 647,
Sunonvme. T b. minor Mich. Bor. Amer. 2. p. 245.
Engraving. Oxxr figs. 2105, 2106. in p. 1110.
Svec Char 4c. Leaves linear, 2-ranked, crowded, revolute. Male flowers
globose, always solitary. {Willd.) Michaux describes this species as of
humbler growth than the European yew, of spreading habit, and witli
smaller flowers and fru it; and Pursh says that, under the shade of other
trees, it does not rise above 2 oi- Sfeet high. Canada and Maryland ; growing
only in shady rocky places, and flowering in March and Apnl. it was
introduced in 1800; and is apparently only a variety of the common
yew. Horticultural Society’s Garden.
ft 3. T, H a r b i n g t o ' n / ^ Knight. Thc Earl o f Harrington’s Yew.
Tdentmcalion. F o r b c s in P i n . W o b . , pl. 6 8 .; Gard. Mas-, vol. xv., p. 273 , , ,a,->
Svnonvvics ? Ik x u s macrophylla Thunb. ; ? Podocferpus macrophyllus Swt., Lamb. 2<l cd. p. 813..
Arb Bril. 1st ed. p. 2100.
Engravings.
1754.
Pin, Wob., pl. 68. ; Gard. Mag., vol. xv. figs. .57. and 58. ; and our figs. j;53. and
Spec.Char., 4c. ^ Lcaves distichous, flat, from lin . to l.^in.in length, dark
green and shining on the upper surface; of a white glaucous hue beneath,
with the exception of tlie midrib and revolute margins, which are of
a bright green; the apex
mucronate; footstalk.s sliort.
Branches round and furrowed.
{Forbes.) Au evci--
greentree. Japan. ? Height.
Introduced in 1837.
Readily distinguisiicd from
all the well-authenticated species
of 7’axus, by its larger
revolute leaves, ,
which are of
silvery glaucous
colour on the
under side. It is
not yet ascer-
taineif whether
the plant is sufficiently
hardy to
pass the winter in
the open air as a
standard, but it
promises to be
so. Propagated
by cuttings, or by
grafting on the
1753. r . Harringtònfa. common yew.
Other Species o f Táxus.— T. Mackaya Pin. Wob. p. 218. is a native of
Schlecht. {G. M. XV. p. 242.) is a Mexican species, not ) Ct introduced.
G e n u s II.
T o r r e 'y / J Arnott. T h e T o r r e y a . Lin. Syst. Dice eia Monadélphia.
Identification. Ann. Nat. Hist., vol. i. p. 130. ; Gard. M.ag., vol. xvi,, p. 6.58.
Derivation. Named by Dr. Arnott in honour ol' D r . Torrey, one of the authors of the Norih-
American Flora.
Synonyme. ï'àxus sp. Nutt.
Gen. Char. Dioecious.—Male ament at first subglobose, but at length elongated
; the rachis uitiinately naked, except at the base, where it is bracteate
by qiiadrifariously imbricated many-flowered scales. Staminiferous scales
pedicellate, subpeltate, dimidiate, each bearing a 4-celled anther.—Female
ament ovate, one-flowered, bracteate at tlie base as in the male ; disk none.
Ovulum erect. Seed ovate, bracteate at the base by dry scarcely increasing
scales, but naked at the top. Testa tliick, fleshy, and" coriaceous outside,
but fibry inside. Albumen vwromated. i ’méi-T/o subcylindrical, short. Cotyledons
connate.
Leaves simple, linear, two-rowed, exstipulate, evergreen ; rigid, mucronate.—
A tree, evergreen, with spreading branches, and the branchlets di.s