GENUS JUNIPERUS. 55 



J. communis COmprcssa must be considered as the 

 dwarfest of all hardy conifers, it rarely exceeding a few inches 

 in height. It is of compact conical habit, a specimen of 5 

 inches in height being about 2 inches in diameter of branch 

 spread, the branchlets being slender, and growing close to- 

 gether in an upward direction. The foliage is thickly pro- 

 duced, the individual leaves short and bright green, changing 

 in severe winters to a dull brown. The rate of growth, even 

 under the best cultivation, is remarkably slow, yet the plant 

 never wears a dumpy or cushion-like appearance, as is the 

 case with the majority of pigmy conifers. 



Many years ago I had a specimen of the above sent to me 

 by a botanical friend, it being then 4 inches high, and as 

 pretty a miniature conifer as could be desired. To-day it is 

 hardly one inch taller, very little wider in spread, and of as 

 beautiful a blue-green as when originally received. Consider- 

 ing that it has been growing in the richest of leaf soil for 

 several years and has hardly increased in size, one cannot but 

 wonder at the thickly-produced foliage remaining so fresh and 

 healthy. For rock-work it is a gem, and must be considered 

 as the dwarfest conifer known. 



J. comimunis cracovia. Polish Juniper. — A de- 

 cidedly ornamental variety, with an easy, half-pendulous, 

 though upright mode of growth. The foliage is plentifully 

 produced, and of a light green colour, but varies with the 

 quality of soil in which the specimen is growing. In 

 rather dampish loam, and where partial shade is afforded, it 

 grows very freely, the foliage being thick and bright, and the 

 branch tips gracefully pendulous, particularly those on the 

 upper half of the specimen. 



J. communis hemispherica. — This is a distinct 

 variety, and one that keeps true to character. It only rises a 

 short distance from the ground in a compact, almost globose 

 mass, the leaves stiff, thickly produced, and of the same tint 

 as those of the species, though not much over half as long. 

 For rock gardening it is valuable, the rate of growth being 

 slow, the outline compact, and the foliage pleasantly glaucous. 



