GENUS JUNIPERUS. 61 



habit or outline, but directly refers to the stiff, sharp-pointed 

 leaves, which render the plant almost as difficult to handle as 

 a bush of furze. It is at once one of the most distinct, hardy, 

 and beautiful of the many species of Jiiniperiis — indeed, I 

 much question whether any other can surpass as a standard 

 specimen a well-grown healthy bush of /. rigida. It has a 

 warmth of foliage tint, and a gracefully irregular habit, shapely 

 without formality, that renders it one of the most pleasing of 

 small or bush-growing conifers. Usually it forms a bush of 

 about 12 feet in height, with the diameter of branch spread 

 almost equal from base to tip, the branches slightly ascending, 

 and the branchlets and young shoots gracefully pendulous. 

 A peculiar habit of this species is that some of the branches 

 project further than others, but curiously enough, such 

 branches are so regularly spread over the specimen, that any 

 irregularity of habit is quite lost sight of, and this is further 

 aided by the weeping tips which hang limp and free for 

 several inches in length, and constitute an unusual and dis- 

 tinctive charm. Very beautiful, too, is the silvery sheen of 

 the foliage that is brought about by the conspicuous glaucous 

 furrow that is present on the upper sides of the leaves. Each 

 leaf is \ an inch long, narrow, and very stiff, and terminat- 

 ing in a sharp point. At no period of growth is /. rigida 

 more beautiful than during the months of June and July, for 

 then the light green (almost of a yellowish tint) of the young 

 growths contrasts markedly with the deep bright green of the 

 older foliage, which later on assumes a warm brownish tint. 



For ornamental planting I would place this only second to 

 the better known /. reairva, but it has the advantage over 

 that popular species in that it succeeds well in the very soil 

 where the other becomes rusty and infested with red-spider. 



By far the finest specimen that has come under my notice 

 is growing in deep sandy soil near the race-course at Sandown 

 Park; it is 13 feet high, and nearly 5 feet through, and is as 

 perfect a specimen conifer as could be desired. 



J. Sabina, Linnaeus. (The Savin.) Central and Southern 

 Europe, Caucasus, Siberia, North-Eastern America. Prior to 



