THE SPRUCE, ETC. 



297 



building, and for shingles, railroad ties, the founda- 

 tions of buildings, and fence posts. It is capable of 

 withstanding the disintegrating effect of alternating 

 heat and moisture. The bark is very fibrous. 



Common Juniper. The common juniper must be con- 

 Juniperus communis, sidered more as a shrub than a tree, 

 as it rarely grows tall enough to look treelike. In 

 habit, however, it is sometimes 

 erect; but more frequently it 

 has low - spreading branches, 

 which grow so close to the 

 ground that they are apt to 

 be trodden upon. Its sharp- 

 pointed needle, green below 

 and a trifle whitish above, is 

 very prickly, grows in threes 

 around the slender stem, and 

 does not often exceed half an 

 inch in length. The pretty cadet- Common Juniper - 

 blue berries, about the size of a pea, are black purple 

 beneath the bloom ; they have an agreeable, aromatic 

 odor when bruised, and are largely used in the 

 flavoring of gin. Juniper is common throughout 

 the North on dry and sterile ground, and grows 

 hardly more than one or two feet high. I have 

 found it plentiful on the eastern shores of Lake 

 George, but never in the White Mountains. 



