52 JUNIPERUS VIRGINIANA. 
coalesces with the germ and forms a small round- 
ish berry, with two or three seeds, covered on its 
outer surface with a bright blue powder. | 
The leaves of the Red cedar have a strong 
disagreeable taste, with some pungency and 
bitterness. The peculiar taste and odour reside, 
no doubt, in a volatile oil, which, however, is 
not readily separated by distillations in a small 
way. The tincture becomes turbid when water 
is added, and very much so if suffered to stand 
a day or two. ‘The presence of tannin is devel- 
oped by the admixture of dissolved — with 
a decoction of the bark and leaves. 
The botanical similarity of this tree to the 
Savin, which is an European shrub, has already 
been mentioned. In their sensible and medicinal 
properties, they are equally allied. The taste of 
the two species is nearly the same, except that 
the cedar leayes are the more nauseous of the 
two. As the American tree is frequently known 
throughout the country by the name of Savin, our. 
apothecaries have been led to presume upon its 
identity with that medicine, and it has long -been 
used in cases where the true Sayin is recom- 
mended. Its most frequent use, however, is in | 
the composition of the cerate employed for keep- 
ing up the irritation and discharge of blisters. 
