2090

ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

PART III.

leaves, eaten alone, are fatal to animals, particularly to horses, upon which hemade his experiments; but that, when mixed with twice or thrice as muchoats, they may be used without any danger. This neutralisation of the poi-sonous qualities of the yew by another vegetable may explain, to a certainextent, the diversity of opinion upon their effects; it being possible that someanimals, which have eaten of the yew without inconvenience, had shortly beforeeaten heartily of some other vegetable. At all events, as M. Dutour observes,it is possible that the nature of the soil, the climate, and the age of thetree, may contribute to diminish its bad effects; and it is certain, that withthis poison, as with certain others (opium for example), custom renders itinnoxious. It is said that, in the mountains of Hanover and Hesse, thepeasants feed their cattle in part with the branches of the yew, during thewinter. They know its poisonous qualities ; and, although they reckon it goodfood, they are aware that great precaution is necessary in using it, withoutwhich they run the risk of losing their cattle : consequently, they give themat first a very little, mixed with other forage; afterwards they graduallyaugment the quantity, until at last they can almost give them the leaves ofalone, without any danger.

Soil, Propagation, fyc. The yew will grow on any soil that is somewhatmoist; but it thrives best in loams and clays, on rock, and in a shady situa-tion. It is propagated for the most part by seeds; but the varieties, and alsothe species, when the object is to form a hedge of plants of the same dimen-sions and colour of leaf, as already mentioned (p. 2088.), should be propa-gated by cuttings or layers from one plant onjy. The berries are ripe inOctober, and should be then gathered, carried to the rot-heap, and treated inthe same manner as haws. (See p. 840.) If, however, they are sown imme-diately, enveloped in their pulp, a few of them may come up the followingyear, and the remainder the second year; but, if the pulp is allowed to dryround the nut, and they are kept in that state till spring, none of them willcome up till the third year. Cuttings may be formed of either one or two years’growth, and planted in a shady border, either in the beginning of April or theend of August. The cuttings will be most certain of success if slipped offwith a heel, and if the soil consists chiefly of sand. The leaves should becarefully stripped off' the lower part of the cutting, which may be from 7 in.to lOin. in length, and buried to the depth of 5 in. in the soil. Cuttingstreated in this manner require two years before they are sufficiently rootedto be removed. In all probability, however, if the points of the shoots weretaken and planted in sand under a hand-glass, about midsummer, or before,they would produce roots the same season, and might be transplanted thefollowing spring. Whether plants are raised from seeds or cuttings, theyought to undergo the usual routine of culture in the nursery, till they are3 ft. or 4 ft. high ; because, as they are of slow growth, time is gained by thispractice; and the yew transplants so readily at any age, that there is no moredanger of plants failing when transplanted at the height of 6 ft. or 8 ft., thanthere is when they are only 6 in. or 8 in. high. In planting the yew for hedges,the advantage ofhaving large-sized plants is obvious; forwhich reason Boutcherrecommends them to be kept in the nursery till they are 7 or 8 years of age,at which time they will be 7 ft. or 8 ft. high. The season for transplantingthe yew, whether of a large or small size, is, as in the case of all other ever-greens, when the sap is in a comparatively dormant state, between autumn andspring, and when the weather is open, mild, and, if possible, showery. If trans-planted in frosty weather, or while a dry wind prevails, they ought to becovered with mats or straw, or wicker hurdles, kept 6 in. or 8 in. from theplant by stakes and poles. The proper season for clipping yew hedges istowards the end of June, when the shoots of the year have been completed;and, to retain a hedge in the greatest beauty or verdure for the greatest lengthof time, it ought to be gone over in the latter end of July, or the beginning ofAugust; and the points of all those shoots which had become stubby, fromrepeated clippings, cut back 3 in. or 4 in. If this be not attended to annually,