CALIFORNIA JUXIPIOK. 15 



haunts, say in high mountain vales, or along the banks of 

 those streams, it becomes a very handsome tree. One can 

 scarcely realize the great contrast of elegance and beauty — 

 perhaps, among a thousand expressions, the most general and 

 striking is that stubborn air of death-grapple, and evermore 

 irrepressible conflict of these veterans of a thousand wars, 

 against all the combined elements of earth and heaven. 

 Offset to this conic top of well defined, softly green, and 

 graceful boughs and body, you still behold maintained the 

 perfect symmetry of strength below. Or, yonder stands the 

 usual type, a tree well nigh in ruins, perchance bygone 

 greatness half in ruins, with modern repairs; or, it may 

 be only a relic of passed glory, now lonely and neglected ; 

 here and there venerable and grave, anon grotesque, always 

 in a high degree picturesque. But really who may tell all 

 the varied expressions of this marvelous Great Far Western 

 Juniper? They are more than can be numbered, nor may 

 any artist ever cease to admire this inexhaustible sylvan 

 study. They invite a volume of comment, we dare not enter 

 the field, but wait with eyes afar over the landscape looking 

 for the coming man. 



To dwell upon its durable timber qualities, would be to 

 repeat the lore of Cedar and Juniper renown; as live fences, 

 rock and wall screens, naval knees, boats, common carpenter 

 and cabinet work, and all uses where light, close-grained, 

 soft, smooth, and compact wood is wanted. 



CALIFORNIA JUNIPER. 



(Juniperus Californiea.) 

 "And she cast the boy under one of the shrubs" — of juniper. — Moses, Gen. XXI: 15. 



THIS species is full oft only a large depressed shrub, or 

 a small tree of twenty to thirty feet high ; bark of body 

 brown and shreddy; wood pale; outline of top irreg- 

 ular; branchlets thickest of any of the savin section; tiny 

 scale leaves usually in threes ; on young shoots they are 

 loose and awl-form, white above; in age, they become short 

 and thick, rounded at the tips, horny eye-lashed, or fringed 

 on the margin. These least twigs present the usual appear- 

 ance of finely corded sprays, least larger and largest; these 

 last being more loose and scale like. In the male flowers 

 the anther scales mostly in threes, eighteen to twenty-four, 

 rhombic, scarcely acute ; scales of the female, tiny aments 



