THE COMMON JUNIPER 



THE RED JUNIPER OR RED CEDAR 



The common or dwarf juniper and its brother the red juniper, are 

 often called red cedars, because their heartwood is red, and their leaves 

 look somewhat like cedar leaves. The red juniper grows into a tree 



form, while the dwarf juniper, as 

 its name indicates, is generally a 

 shrub. The leaves of the red 

 juniper are not all of the same 

 kind; some are flat like those of 

 arborvitse for part of their length, 

 with a point at the end ; others are 

 needle shaped and pointed. The 

 needles of the dwarf juniper are 

 shaped more like a shoemaker's 

 awl. This tree has two sets of 

 leaves in its younger shoots, one 

 very much shorter and flatter than 

 the other. 



These trees are abundant in reg- 

 ions where limestone is found, 

 which seems most suitable for their 

 growth. In their home climate they 

 appear very much like stately over- 

 grown columns. Every one has 

 heard of the juniperberry and per- 

 haps has seen and tasted it. Many 

 of our birds that stay with us over 

 winter, feast on these berries, and 

 then drop the seeds here and there, 

 in this way distributing the trees 

 over a large area. This is one of 

 Nature's ways of plant distribution. 

 Sometimes we find on these juni- 

 pers large, fruit-like growths, 

 which are commonly called cedar 

 apples or juniper apples; these, 

 however, are not fruits with seeds in them, but fungus growths which 

 take unto themselves this form. They are very detrimental to the life 

 of the tree. How many boys and girls know that the wood of their 

 lead pencils is the wood of the juniper? 



The wood is very durable and was in times past used by the farmers 

 for fence posts, shingles, and poles, and whereve- durability in contact 



12 



Juniper 



