THE CLIMATE BEST ADAPTED/IO THE LYCHEE 57 



"when the mountains became white and the natives were greatly 

 surprised. He says, "That year all the lychee trees died off but 

 after several years sprouted out again. 



Air. George Campbell L of Ka Ying (H m Wl), Kwangtung, 

 China in January, 1913, reported, "I have been in Ka Ying for 

 25 years and 18 years ago I can remember a cold snap when the 

 thermometer went to 24 degrees. The lungan trees were killed and 

 for years afterwards we got very few lungans. The lichee trees were 

 also killed though some of them sprouted out again and are now 

 bearing. This month we had a severe frost, the worst since '93, and 

 these trees and their cousins were hard hit." More than 20 years 

 ago Theodore L. Meade of Oviedo, Fla. , reported that the tree 

 grows well there but suffers much from frost. In the winter of 

 1888-89 a temperature of 27 degrees cut his-tree back but little, while 

 21 degrees killed it to the ground in 1890. Mr. Reasoner of the 

 Royal-Palm nurseries, Oneco, Florida, reported March 11, 1916, 

 "iVly little lichee trees were untouched by these freezes. A week 

 ago we had 29 degrees and yesterday 30 with a very hard frost 

 indeed. I just saw them and they are O.K. ' ? In a letter to the 

 writer, after the severe freeze of February, 1917, Mr. Reasoner' s 

 conclusions were, "There is no doubt but that these trees are much 

 more hardy than mango trees, but not so hardy as lemon trees. 

 The leaves cannot stand very severe freezing." 



In conclusion it is safe to assume from the records at hand 

 that the lychee will prove most profitable when grown at low 

 altitudes, in sub-tropical regions not subject to temperatures much 

 below 30 degrees Fahrenheit. If the tree is kept dormant and 

 somewhat protected in the winter it can possibly endure slight 

 frosts. Doubtless lychee trees could be protected from cold much 

 as orange and lemon trees are in Florida and California. The 

 lungan will endure more cold than the lychee but thrives best under 

 conditions favorable to the lychee. 



1 Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction, United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, Washington, Correspondence, Reports, etc. 



