250 THE JUNIPER. 
esteemed in the preparation of varnish. The spray is used as 
fuel for smoking hams. The wood is fragrant, of a light 
brown colour, and susceptible of a high polish ; and it is 
generally used in forming the smaller articles of ornamental 
turnery. In a loose, open soil the plants yield long, tough, 
fibrous roots, which in the Highlands of Scotland are split up 
and woven into creels and hampers, which are used at farm- 
steadings for carrying potatoes, turnips, and for similar pur- 
poses. These articles, thus manufactured, are remarkable for 
their durability, when exposed to alternate moisture and 
drought. 
J. Virginiana (Linneus), the Virginian Juniper, commonly 
known as the Red American Cedar, is the tallest hardy tree 
of the genus. In its native country it is frequently met with 
sixty feet high, with a trunk two feet in diameter. It was 
introduced into Britain in the early part of the seventeenth 
century, where it attains the dimensions which it acquires in 
North America. In British nurseries this species is more 
extensively cultivated than any other. Its progress from seed, 
during the first four or five years, is equal to that of the 
Scotch pine ; and no plant is more apt to produce seedling 
varieties, which, while they differ in the size and shape of 
their foliage, in the structure of their branches, and in their 
habit of growth, are all of them handsome. It grows best in 
rich, deep soil, and endures a more than ordinary degree of 
moisture, which has the effect of forming it into a broad and 
spreading tree; but it generally rises a beautifully formed 
evergreen, of a conical figure, affording a great shelter. It 
is thoroughly hardy, and is much esteemed in the shrubbery, 
as a nurse or shelter for more tender plants. 
The quality of the timber varies considerably in the different 
varieties. It is generally of a glossy brown colour, and of a 
fine grain, susceptible of a high polish, and used in the manu- 
factures of the turner and cabinetmaker. Seedling plants 
should be transplanted when they are one, or at most two 
years old, and afterwards removed every second year, until 
they are permanently situated, 
