CHAP. CXU.

TAX A'cEiE. TA'XUS.

208 L

the tree stands quite erect; that the trunk is destitute of branches for someway up; and that the head still continues to grow.

Yews remarkable for some Singularity in' their Form, Mode of Growth, orSituation. The yew being one of the trees most frequently subjected to theshears in former times, is occasionally to be met with clipped into artificialforms; but those singularities of form which we intend to notice here willbe chiefly such as have arisen from fortuitous circumstances. The most re-markable clipped yew tree that we recollect, in the neighbourhood of Lon-don, is one in the churchyard at Hounslow ; the sides of which are formedinto square plinths and cylinders, and the top into a cock. There is a similartree in the churchyard at Beaconsfield. The clipped tree at Harlington (no-ticed in p. 2077.), which must have been one of the grandest things of its kindof the time, is, as already observed, no longer subjected to the shears.

The Crum Castle Yew Tree “ grows on a small mound of earth, 4 ft.

. above the level of the surrounding surface. Its branches were formerlysupported by 32 brick pillars, 0 ft. high ; but these were removed about threeyears ago, and it is now supported by 10 oak posts with their bark on, whichlook more in character with the tree. Its height is 18 ft. 6 in.; the trunk is9 ft. 3 in. in girt at 1 ft. 6 in. from the ground; and the space covered by thebranches is 70 ft. 6 in. in diameter. Its branches are so interwoven andplatted together through each other, that it is almost impossible to trace anyone of them from the trunk to its extremity. This, indeed, is the cause ofthe very remarkable appearance of the tree : but at what time, or by whosehands, this labour was performed, is unknown. The tree is supposed to bethree or four centuries old, and has rather the appearance of being on thedecline. It was highly valued by the late Earl of Erne, who frequently em-ployed men to clean the moss from its branches. It is a female plant, andbears annually abundance of fruit. This singular tree is surrounded by a yewhedge, which is kept neatly clipped. — W. Henderson. Crum Castle, March,1836.”

The Portbury Yews. In the churchyard of Portbury, near Bristol, are twovery lofty yews, much longer in the bole than usual. One of these, in Au-gust, 1836, had a small branch from the base of a bough, which had shotdownwards into the decayed top of the trunk; and which, on being pulledup, proved to be a perfect root, upwards of 3 ft. in length. This singularcircumstance will explain the origin of the inner trunks of yew trees, as ex-emplified in that of Mamhilad, already described, p. 2077. When the top ofthe trunk becomes cracked by the action of storms upon the boughs, the rainfinds access, and, in time, causes decay; and the dead leaves and dung ofbats and birds, &c., falling in, combine with the rotten wood to form a softrich mould, into which a bud shooting out from a neighbouring part (if notactually covered by the mould) is naturally drawn by the moisture and sur-rounding shade, and transformed into a root. As the fissure widened anddeepened, by the slow but sure process of decay, this root would descendand thicken, till it ultimately fixed itself in the soil below. After a lapse of,perhaps, several centuries, decay, gradually advancing, would at last reach thecircumference of the trunk, and produce a rift on one side : through this therotten mould would fall out, gradually exposing the root it had conducteddownwards; and the combined influence of light and air, acting upon itsjuices, would cause it to deposit annual layers of true wood, and to be coveredwith a true bark. Meanwhile it would have shot up a stem near its point ofunion, and have formed for itself an independent head and branches. All thisis in strict conformity with the known laws of vegetable physiology; and somesimilar process has produced the peculiarities already described in the Mamhi-lad and Llanthewy Vach yews. In the Portbury tree, the same process isshown in its earlier stage; and these examples make it probable that, underfavourable circumstances, the yew has the power of thus perpetuating itself.If so, it may be said to have a new claim to be considered the emblem of im-mortality. There is no doubt that, barring accidents, the inner trunks of the

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