ShanJcing and Sh'iveling of Grapes. 1 73 



upon the starving system, and that I am neither sparing of the 

 knife nor the scissors; yet in dull seasons the footstalks of the 

 grapes will turn black notwithstanding. 

 Maxdey Hall, Jan. 14. 1841. 



Art. XII. On the ShanVing and Shriveling of Grapes. 

 By a Gardener out of Place. 



I HAVE read with much interest the articles that have appeared 

 at different times in your Magazine on the culture of grapes ; 

 and the various opinions given respecting the shanking of the 

 bunches, and the shriveling of the berries. I have had for the 

 last twenty years to attend to three or four houses of early forced 

 grapes, thinning them out, &c. ; and the conclusion I have ar- 

 rived at is, that the shriveling of the berries may be traced to 

 the sap in the stalk of the berry accumulating on the points of 

 the scissors, when thinning them out; which sap, if the scissors 

 are not kept perfectly clean, and very frequently wiped dry, gets 

 impregnated with iron so as to turn quite black. As you pro- 

 ceed in thinning, to every wound you make, a layer of this iron 

 extract is left on the stump of the stalk of the berry, which I 

 consider poisons the part, thus " destroying or greatly weaken- 

 ing the principle of vitality." 



I may be right or wrong in this conjecture ; but, if the obser- 

 vation of your Cotswold correspondent, " that he never saw a 

 bunch shank that the scissors had been kept from," is correct, 

 it will in some measure seem to sanction this opinion. 



I consider Mr. Duncan, in his clever essay, decidedly wrong 

 in stating that " syringing should be continued till the berries 

 have done growing." The grape-growers who grow for the 

 market, and who may be considered the best practical men in 

 the line, never syringe their vines after the bunches are in blossom. 

 The stems they do syringe, but the stems only. By syringing 

 the bunches, you wash off that beautiful bloom which, in the 

 ripe grape, adds so much, not only to their appearance on the 

 table, but to their pecuniary value in the mai'ket; and which, 

 when once it is gone, can never after be recovered. Syringing, 

 also, will very frequently make the bunches spotty; as, if there is 

 the least impurity in the water, not perceptible to the naked eye, 

 it is sure to be exhibited on the berries, " growing with their 

 growth," rendering them unsightly, and reducing them very 

 considerably in estimation. The best way to colour grapes is 

 to give plenty of air, and as early in the morning as you possi- 

 bly can. Some leave a little all night ; this may be unnecessary, 

 but no consideration must tempt you to neglect it in the morn- 

 ing, full as early as 7 o'clock : if the weather is any way favour- 

 able it must be attended to, for, if neglected, a damp vapour 



