1881 .] 
ECHINACEA INTERMEDIA. 
59 
In some places and situations—this, among 
others—Rosarians must either form standards 
or wire their Roses in; otherwise the rabbits 
would peel or destroy the dwarfs. But 
these prolific vermin are not the masters of 
the Rosaries of England, and need not, as a 
rule, determine the choice of Rose-growers. 
Another argument that I have used in favour 
of Standard Roses is that they lift the Rose up 
to our level, instead of our having to bend low 
to admire their beauty or inhale their fra¬ 
grance. To say nothing of the gallant senti¬ 
ment of stooping to conquer, this argument 
loses much of its force in these days of high 
culture, when such Roses as Charles Lefebvre, 
Gfloire de Dijon, and many more, can be made 
to give shoots two or even three yards long 
in a single season. Roses that are wanted to 
stand high can yield their own elevators, with¬ 
out help from the brier. As to weaker growers, 
he who is too proud to bend low to admire 
their beauty or inhale their fragrance, can 
hardly be said to be worthy of them. 
Further, the Roses can make roots enough, 
and to spare, for themselves, without being 
dependent on the wild brier, so that the bor¬ 
rowing of roots from the wilder members of 
the family is by no means necessary. No 
doubt, they will always be used to some extent. 
But the safety of our Roses seems to demand 
that Rosarians should no longer lean so heavily 
on the brier. 
Roses on their roots can readily be made 
frost-proof. Virtually, their roots are so, as 
soon as buried in the ground. It is seldom, 
indeed, that we have frosts severe enough to 
kill Rose-roots. The frosts kill the tops and 
the stalks, while, unfortunately, the roots, left 
alone, are only those of the brier. But with 
Roses on their own roots, each root may be 
said to be a Rose-tree in embryo. Should the 
top be destroyed, these embryo Roses develop 
into suckers, that often rival in strength the 
top cut down by frost. And besides, it is not 
needful to stand helplessly by and see dwarf 
rose3 cut to the ground. Should no snow fall 
and protect them, our mulchings can take the 
place of snow. These last may be heavy or 
the reverse, according to the amount of Rose- 
tops that it is wished to save. A thin litter of 
strawy dung or other substances suffices to pre¬ 
serve alive all dwarf Roses to the height it 
extends, and, anyhow, dwarfs are sure to spring 
up afresh from the root-stock as soon as the 
winter is over and gone ; and then we have, at 
the worst, hopeful, promising young plants, 
instead of mere wrecks, as is the case with 
Standard Roses, 
Not only this, the frost often proves a friend 
to the dwarf Roses. It cuts down worn-out 
heads that the Rosarian may not have had the 
courage to remove. And from the base of the 
Rose, there leaps up, as if by magic, but really 
through the concentration of vital force, such 
splendid shoots as to produce prize flowers the 
same season.—D. T. Fish, Hardwicke. 
ECHINACEA INTERMEDIA. 
E are indebted to Mr. T. S. Ware, of 
Tottenham, for the opportunity of 
introducing the accompanying figure 
of ’Echinacea intermedia , a hardy herbaceous 
perennial of bold habit, which, as will be seen 
by the illustration, is also one of a showy and 
ornamental character. It belongs to the great 
family of the Composites, and is an offshoot 
from the genus Rudbeckia. There is a coloured 
figure of it published in Paxton's Magazine 
of Botany , xv., 79. 
The plant is perfectly hardy, and one of the 
finest of autumnal border flowers, producing its 
blossoms from the end of July onwards. Being 
a free-blooming plant and very handsome, it is 
deserving a place in every border of hardy 
flowers ; it is suitable for a back-row plant, or 
for placing in the front part of the shrubbery. 
It grows about 4 ft. high, and has robust hairy 
stems, and dark green scabrous leaves, which are 
