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CHAPTER XXIII. 



DISEASES AND INJURIES. 



'HERE are not many plants that are subject to so many forms of 

 disease, etc., or are so easily injured as the Vine. Robust and 

 vigorous as it seems in its rude green health, a very little neglect 

 or a very little damage will soon arrest its progress and spoil its 

 beauty. No plant pays better for the care and attention bestowed 

 upon it than the Vine, or is so easily ruined by neglect. 



The word disease is here used in the broad sense in which it is 

 generally taken, although it is scarcely an applicable term for " all the 

 ills " to which the Vine is subject, the more important of which are 

 the folio wing": Rust, Spot, Scalding, Warts on the leaves, "Bleeding," 

 Shanking, Aerial roots, Fungus on the roots, Mildew, etc. On each 

 of these it is proposed to offer a few observations. 



Rust. This is an affection or injury to the cuticle or skin of the 

 berries, giving them a rusty appearance. It is caused whilst the skin 

 is young and tender, about thinning time, and disfigures them even 

 when ripe. When once it is produced there is no remedy ; the only 

 thing that can be done when it is observed is to cut out the affected 

 berries. Many views have been entertained and many opinions have 

 been held as to the causes of rust. Touching the berries with the 



hand or with the hair of the head are 

 some : it is well, therefore, not to 

 touch or handle the berries in any 

 way since they are so very easily 

 bruised and spoiled. But these 

 are not the chief causes of rust. 

 Cold draughts of air are also 

 suspected ; avoid therefore, cold 

 draughts or currents of air whilst 

 the Grapes are young, for they are 

 very injurious, even if rust is not 

 caused by them. Rust is most 

 common in early houses, where 

 a good deal of firing is required, 

 and especially in those where the 

 old-fashioned flues are still in use. 

 An over-heated flue, with the 

 inevitable dry parched atmosphere 

 SPOT ON GRAPES. and occasional sulphurous fumes, 



