THE KAKI AND ITS RELATIVES 357 



TABLE VI. COMPOSITION OF THE KAKI 



Cultivation. 



The kaki is distinctly a subtropical fruit and thus is not 

 successful in the moist tropical lowlands, although there are 

 many elevated valleys and plateaux in the tropics where it can 

 be grown. Its culture in the United States is limited to regions 

 which are suitable for the fig. Some varieties have survived 

 temperatures as low as zero, while others are more tender. 

 L. H. Bailey writes: "Many seedlings have been produced 

 which seem to have increased frost-resisting powers. In- 

 stances are reported in which some of these trees have with- 

 stood the winters of east Tennessee. By successive sowing of 

 seeds from these hardier seedlings we may look for a race of 

 trees which will be adapted to the middle sections of the United 

 States. There is a probability, also, that importations from 

 the north of China and Japan may considerably extend the 

 range northward in this country. Some varieties have suc- 

 ceeded in central Virginia and Kentucky." 



Regarding the moisture requirements of the kaki, experience 

 indicates that it does not need a high degree of atmospheric 

 humidity if it is supplied with plenty of water at the root. 

 T. Ikeda says of the trees in Japan : " They are very water- 

 loving in habit and require a constant and sufficient supply 

 of soil water." The behavior of the species in California has 



