September 14, 1893. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
239 
C. hederaefolium and C. grsecum form objects of the greatest beauty. 
They grow well under the shade of trees or at the base of rockwork, 
and are benefited by the addition of lime to the soil. No one can 
fail to admire the grace of these little flowers, drooping their heads 
from stems uplifted above the marbled leaves. The only depre¬ 
ciating remark that can be applied to them is that the flowers “ are 
small." This is true when compared with the greenhouse varieties 
of C. persicum ; but beauty does not exist only in large flowers, and 
the modest worth of these hardy “Bleeding Nuns ” will endear them 
to all who grow them. 
It has fallen to the writer more than once to speak in favour of 
the Meadow SafErons, and once again he would plead for recognition 
of their value. Early as they have been this season, coming when 
other flowers were plentiful, they have yet been very attractive in 
their various forms. The rosy purple flowers of Colchicum 
autumnale have been far surpassed in beauty by the rose-coloured 
C. byzantinum, which is almost perfect in form, while this again has 
been eclipsed by the ruby flowers of C. speciosum rubrum and 
C. veratrifolium of Tulip-like size ; and these, in turn, have yielded 
to the superior charms of the magnificent C. speciosum maximum, 
the gem perhaps of all with the exception of C. Sibthorpi, which I 
have not as yet had the good fortune to possess, but which I hope 
will adorn my garden another year. Very beautiful, too, have been the 
double forms of C. autumnale, the rosy purple one forming a charming 
tuft through a carpet of the foliage of Anemone coronaria, and the 
double white flowering later and coming into bloom with the beautiful 
Crocus specioEUS, the first of the genus to flower this autumn here. 
The earlier Michaelmas Daisies have been for some time in flower, 
and with other plants have softened the glare of the yellow flowers ; 
while the KniphoficS or Tritomas, which are flowering unusually 
well in my garden this season, have added variety to the scene.— 
S. A KNOTT, Dumfries. 
SOFT VERSUS HARD COLD WATER. 
I AM sure many readers of the Journal have been waiting anxiously 
to see whether Mr. Dunn would accept “ W. P. W.’s” invitation, and 
give U8 the benefit of his ideas, and I am equally certain many must be 
astounded to read them in the face of present day facts. I would not 
have thought it possible to find anyone who would dare to advance such 
a theory as Mr. Dunn’s in the horticultural press. I am inclined to 
think your correspondent has only put forth a small skirmishing party, 
while his heavy guns are still in the rear. I may perhaps be a somewhat 
dull reader, but after going carefully over Mr. Dunn’s communication 
twice I fail to find a single point which will hold water. I am one of 
those cultivators who do believe cold hard water is something more than 
slow poison to plants, and will now relate a few stubborn facts. 
When I first started on my gardening career it was impressed upon 
me very forcibly never to give Cucumbers, Vines, and plants water 
which had been taken direct from the tap, but always to make sure it 
was somewhere near the same temperature as the house, and for that 
purpose we used to add hot water out of the boiler. I came to look upon 
this addition of hot water as absolutely necessary, but was destined to 
change my ideas. Having entered a market growing concern, what did 
I see ? Simply nothing else but cold water being used, and the crops— 
well, they were far superior to anything I had seen in private gardens. 
I have seen such results where the plants and trees have only received 
cold hard water that for a long time past—to adopt a soapy phrase—I 
have used no other. I do not mean to say I drench my houses during 
the dead of winter, but after March it is invariably applied to all the 
plants growing therein. Our Cucumbers are “ hosed up ’’ during the 
summer months every morning at 6 A.M., the borders and whole house 
from roof to floor completely drenched. We are compelled to use it at 
this early hour because it comes from the main of the water company, 
and after the carts commence watering the roads our pressure is con¬ 
siderably reduced. Is the water cold ? So cold that one’s thumb gets 
quite numb with it. In the afternoon the houses are drenched through 
again. This is all the “soft” water the Cucumbers receive. I have never 
grown better fruit or heavier crops. I have a friend who is obliged to 
rise at 4 A.M. to get his houses “hosed up” before the water carts start. 
The Palms grown for market and nursery purposes are all treated to 
a similar routine in many of our large establishments. I know one very 
large firm who use the hose at the end of March, and keep using it 
continuously till the following winter. Even Mr. Dunn must admit the 
Palms sent into Covent Garden Market are unsurpassed for colour and 
general appearance. It is very evident some plants thrive a long while 
on Mr. Dunn’s “ slow poison.” I doubt very much whether the Heaths 
so largely grown by some firms ever have soft water ; their engines pump 
it into tanks, but the men use it as fast as it is pumped, so it cannot be 
exposed to the air for any length of time. 
I will now quote an instance of Grape culture. At one of the 
largest Grape growing establishments in this country, where tons of 
fruit are grown and sent to various parts of the country, and even to 
New York, hard cold water is alone used, and there are few Vines 
cropped so heavily. The houses have to be strutted up owing to the 
weight of the crop. In this particular instance rain water is not saved, 
and absolutely no water is given to the Vines but that lifted by engines. 
I could enumerate many more instances in different branches where 
the much despised cold hard water has to be used, and is used most ^ 
successfully. I entirely differ with Mr. Dunn as to plants treated with 
hard water looking pale and sickly. I do not find it so. The majority 
of my Chrysanthemums are watered with the hose, and they do not 
present the appearance your correspondent would have us believe they 
do under such treatment. Mr. Dunn’s experience with insect pests is 
also somewhat novel, especially when I remember plenty of Peach houses 
where the foliage is kept green and healthy by no other means than cold 
water. I take it I have proved by actual practice that Mr. Dunn is 
“ whimsical,” and certainly in my opinion his ideas on the subjects of 
which he writes are out of date.—J. B. R. 
CAMPANULA NITIDA ALBA. 
C. NITIDA, or C. planiflora as it is sometimes called, has been in 
cultivation for more than a century. It is a North American species, 
and differs considerably in habit and appearance from most of the 
European species. The short stiff leaves are arranged in dense rosettes. 
From these rise the spikes, 6 to 9 inches high, of large salver-shaped 
flowers. The latter, which open one at a time, are about 2 inches in 
diameter, and of a flne violet colour with a smooth shining surface. 
The plant is peculiar for the rigidity of all its parts. It succeeds well 
as a pot plant when grown in a mixture of good loam and leaf soil 
with a few pieces of soft sandstone intermixed. In many places it can 
be grown successfully in the open border or rock garden, but some 
growers have a difficulty in keeping it in these positions. C. nitida alba 
differs only from the type in having white instead of violet flowers. 
The illustration (fig. 34) has been prepared from a plant that was 
recently flowering in the Royal Gardens, Kew.—A. B. 
