THE SHANKING OF GRAPES. 99 



the pores, which are naturally open for the flow of the sap, not 

 having time to heal over and close up before the sap gets in motion. 

 The preventative practice, therefore, is the best, and that is to prime 

 as early as possible, and never whilst the buds are swelling. 



Various methods have been proposed to stop or arrest this bleeding, 

 such as charring the cut ends of the shoots, or covering them with 

 sealing wax, cut potatos, painters' knotting, or some of the various 

 patent styptics. None of these, however, are effectual when once the 

 bleeding has commenced. It seems almost impossible to close these 

 pores or to arrest this extraordinary tide by artificial means. The 

 painters' knotting will check it to a certain extent, so, we are told, 

 will powdered alum ; but some cases are so bad as to baffle all our 

 feeble attempts, and these must be left for Nature herself to cure. 



Shanking. Of all the perplexing maladies that affect Grapes, this 

 is the most obscure; other agencies f may destroy a crop, or even the 

 plants, much more speedily and completely, but there is no ill pertain- 

 ing to Vines the true causes of which are so difficult to estimate and 

 to grapple with as this. 



The term shanking is applied to denote the drying or withering-up 

 of the stalks of the bunches and berries of Grapes. Sometimes it is 

 only a berry or two that "shanks," at other times it is the whole 

 bunch, and in extreme cases it may be the entire crop. '\ he period 

 when shanking commences is just as the berries begin to change colour 

 or to ripen, and it continues more or less in action until they are ripe. 

 The berries that thus shank or lose the vitality of their stalks never 

 colour or ripen, but become intensely sour and soon decay, and 

 require to be cut out. In many cases all that the eye can detect is a 

 minute black speck, or a ring round the stem or stalk of the berry ; in 

 other cases the whole stem is quite blackened. It may be noted that 

 shanking is far more prevalent amongst late Grapes than amongst early 

 forced ones; and again, that it is but seldom seen amongst out-door 

 Grapes ; while some varieties those of the Frontignan class to wit 

 are far more subject to shanking than others, such as the Royal 

 Muscadine. 



As to the causes of shanking, many and varied opinions have been 

 given. It is not so much, we believe, the result of any c.ve special 

 cause, as of a variety of concurrent causes. In a broad or general 

 sense, shanking seems to be the result of some overstrain some bad 

 condition of or injury to the feeding or respiratory organs of the Vine. 

 Either the foliage has been in some way injured, or prevented from 

 performing its proper functions, or the roots have got into bad con- 

 dition, and cannot perform theirs ; or it may be that a combination of 

 both these causes exists. As to the immediate or leading causes of 

 shanking, we shall briefly call attention to some of the principal : 



1. Over-cropping. The crop of fruit must be regulated according 

 to the strength of the Vine, and this may nearly be estimated by the 



