THE LITCHI AND ITS RELATIVES 327 



Barnhart, writing in the Pacific Garden, says of its culture in 

 California : " We are of the opinion that the greatest success 

 may only be obtained with it in the warmer foothill sections of 

 the country, and that, too, beneath the sheltering arms of live 

 oaks. It seems necessary to protect it from the direct sunlight 

 and desiccating atmosphere of our summers, as well as from the 

 frosts of winters. It requires an abundance of water during 

 the summer months." It has been much more successful 

 on the shallow soils of the Miami region in southern Florida 

 than its relative the litchi. 



Propagation is by seed, layering, and grafting, as with the 

 litchi. Higgins remarks concerning the habits of the tree: 

 " The statement has been made that it is a slower grower than 

 the litchi, but this certainly does not hold true under Hawaiian 

 conditions, where it is a robust tree far exceeding the litchi in 

 vigor and rapidity of growth. As in the case of the litchi, 

 seedlings frequently are very tardy coming into bearing." In 

 southern China, where the longan is extensively grown, it is said 

 to require more pruning than the litchi. 



The fruit ripens somewhat later than that of the litchi, and 

 is popular among the Chinese, quantities of it being sold in 

 Hongkong and Canton during late summer. Doubtless some 

 of the varieties cultivated in China are superior in quality of 

 fruit to the seedlings which have been grown in the United 

 States. It has been the general opinion of those who have 

 tasted the American-grown longan that it is insipid and 

 somewhat mawkish, although Barnhart considers it excellent. 



THE RAMBUTAN (Plate XX) 

 (Nephelium lappaceum, L.) 



In the Malay Archipelago are found several valuable tropical 

 fruits which have not yet become extensively cultivated else- 

 where. The rambutan is one of them. It is grown in nearly 



