1801, T[homas] Roberts, “Of the Bow”, in The English Bowman, or Tracts on Archery;[…], London: […][F]or the author, by C. Roworth,[…]; [s]old by Mr. [Thomas] Edgerton,[…]; [a]lso by Mr. Waring,[…], →OCLC, section III (Of Proving the Bow), page 141:
With reſpect to a bow being made round, we muſt recollect, that [Roger] Aſcham ſpeaks of a ſelf-bow; which, it ſeems, was made round as well as the back as in the belly: but back'd-bows have almoſt always a flat back, to prevent their caſting.
I once made a beautiful self-bow from a large branch of yew, which was amputated, after two valuable coach-horses had been poisoned by feeding on its leaves.
The self-bow is the real old Engish weapon; the one with which the many mighty deeds that rendered this country renowned in times gone by were performed; […] Of the woods for self-bows, Yew beyond all question carries off the palm; other woods have been, and still are, in use, such as lance, Cocus, Washaba, Rose, Snake, and some others; but they may be summarily dismissed with the remark, that self-bows made of these woods are all, without exception radically bad, being heavy in hand, apt to jar, comparatively dull in cast, and very liable to chrysal and break, and that no archer should use them so long as a self-yew or a good backed-bow is within his reach.
