More is used for fence posts than for any other one purpose. It is one of the most durable woods known where it must resist conditions conducive to decay. The name yew is said to be derived from a word in a north Europe language meaning everlasting. Yew fence posts are not named in statistics, and it is impossible to quote numbers. Their use is confined to the districts where they grow. The manufacturers of small cabinets draw supplies from this wood, but the fact is not mentioned in Pacific states wood-using statistics. It is particularly liked for turnery, such as small spindles used in furniture and in grill work. It takes an exceptionally fine polish, and the wood’s great strength makes the use of slender pieces practicable. Experiments have shown that this wood may be stained with success, but its natural color is so attractive that there is little need of staining unless the purpose is to imitate some more costly wood. If stained black it is an excellent substitute for ebony. Western yew figures little in lumber output. It is not listed in the markets. The few logs which reach sawmills are never again heard of, but probably most of the lumber is disposed of locally to those who need it. The tree is not of good form for saw timber. Burls are said to make beautiful veneer. Trunks are seldom round, but usually grow lopsided. Most of them are too small for sawlogs. The largest are seldom two feet in diameter, and generally not half that large. They are short and branched, the tree often dividing near the ground in several stems. The average tree is scarcely thirty feet high, but a few are twice that. Its growth is very slow. A six-inch trunk is seventy-five or 100 years old, and the largest sizes are from 200 to 350 years. It is evident, therefore, that efforts to grow western yew for commercial purposes will be few. Wild trees will be occasionally cut as long as they last, and they will probably last as long as any of their associates, for they are scattered sparingly over several hundred thousand square miles of country, and some of it rough and almost inaccessible. The best development of the species is in western Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. The leaves of western yew are one-half or five-eighths inch long. The fruit consists of red pulp enclosing a hard seed. Birds devour it eagerly. The fruit is not poisonous, as the yew berries of the Old World are. It ripens in September and falls in October. The wood is fine grained, clear rose red, becoming gradually duller on exposure. It weighs 39.83 pounds per cubic foot. Its fuel value is high.