VARIETIES OF THE LYCHKK 



and soil conditions. 1 hey recognize the extreme difficulty to per- 

 petuate the desirable characteristics of highly prized varieties under 

 conditions other than those in which the fruit has had its ory:in. At 

 the present time it is quite easy to list as many as 40 or 50 varieties 

 of lychre recognized in K wangling. A list of 49 varieties in 

 Chinese character, Mandarin and Cantonese romanization, and with 

 English equivalents will he found in the Appendix. But 15 distinct, 

 widely-known and commercial varieties is a fair estimate for Kwang- 

 tung. More than half of these are readily found in season on the 

 markets of Canton city where they are attractively displayed to a 

 discriminating public. 



From close contact with the people of Kwangtung t am led 

 to believe that there is greater intelligence on the part of the average 

 Cantonese with regard to the names of the varieties of the lychee, and 

 their respective good and bad qualities, than there is on the part of 

 the average citizen of the West with regard to varieties of important 

 fruits. The average Cantonese student or peasant will quickly tell 

 you why he considers the No mi ts'z (No mai t \sztS3frfc) better 

 than the Huai chih (Wai chi $=&) or the Kuei wei (Kwai mi $y) 

 better than the Hei yeh ( Hak ip JS3|) . I" South China few Chinese 

 feasts are complete unless they are begun or finished with the lychee, 

 dried or fresh. And when the fruit is in season the conversation of 

 the feasters often turns to the quality of different .lychee,- or- to it 

 gamble as to the size of the -seed in the fruit about to be opened. 



Among the fifteen common varieties of lychee in Kwangtung 

 there is a wide range with regard to earliness, general attractiveness, 

 sweetness and size of fruit. The color and surface texture of the 

 skin, the texture, taste and fragrance of the flesh and the size of the 

 seed are all qualities which soon determine in the mind of the con- 

 sumer the value of a variety. By judicious selection and careful 

 propagation by experts these varieties have been find. The cultural 

 requirements for the different varieties, though not known by the 

 average, farmer, are recognized by specialists who are engaged in the 

 nursery business and who are quick to recommend to the grower, 

 varieties which may be best adapted to his conditions. In this con- 

 nection it is a significant fact that one of the common general 

 classifications of varieties is the mountain and the walfr types, 

 the latter containing bv far the most. 



