OUR NATIVE CONIFERS. 
79 
The Irish Yew (var. fastigiata), to which passing reference 
was made, differs from the type in having all its branches growing 
erectly, after the manner of a Lombardy Poplar, and in the leaves 
being scattered promiscuously over the branchlets instead of 
being in two regular rows. It attains a height of twenty to 
twenty-five feet. 
The Juniper {y^iniperus communis) is seldom more than a 
shrub a few feet in height, though it occasionally develops into 
a small tree from ten to twenty feet high, and with a girth of five 
feet. It has a fibrous red bark, which flakes off like that of the 
Yew. The leaves are shaped like a cobbler’s awl, rigid, and 
end in sharp points. They have thickened margins, the concave 
upper sides are glaucous, and they are arranged round the 
branches in whorls of three. The male and female flowers are 
on separate trees. The male catkin may be known in May by 
its numerous anthers and pale yellow pollen. The female catkins 
will be found in the axils of the leaves, and resemble buds. 
The scales are fleshy, and after fertilization the upper ones 
slowly develop into the form of a berry, which has a few un- 
developed scales at its base. They do not ripen until the 
following year, when they are blue-black, covered with a fine 
glaucous bloom. They have a pungent flavour, which is utilized 
in concocting gin, which indeed owes its name to this fact — the 
word being merely a contraction of genevrier, the French form 
of Juniper. The “berries” have long been known as a kidney 
stimulant — a fact which has been fully utilized as the justifica- 
tion of every gin-drinker. A beautiful little moth — Hypsilophus 
7narginellus — may often be taken about the Juniper, upon which 
its caterpillar feeds. 
To appreciate the variety of forms assumed by the Juniper 
according to the elevation at which it grows, it should be seen 
on slopes like those of the North Downs in Surrey — one portion 
of the range at Mickleham is named Juniper Hill. In the 
valleys it may be found as a small shapely tree, higher up the 
L 
