12 
THE IITCHI CROP. 
The litchi ripens fruit at different times in various countries, May 
and June being the season in Hawaii, while July is midseason in China. 
The bearing age of the litchi is extremely variable, particularly if 
the trees are grown from seed. Seedlings in Hawaii have been known 
to fruit in five years, while others have continued to grow and thrive 
for over 20 years without producing a single flower. That this is not 
always due to cultural and natural conditions is demonstrated by 
three layered litchi trees and one seedling growing in the same yard 
under practically identical conditions, the layered trees having borne 
regularly, while the seedling tree, now 24 years old and over 30 feet 
high, has never produced flowers. Numerous instances of this 
character have given rise to the general statement that seedling litchis 
do not come into bearing until they are 20 or more years old, but a 
number of cases are on record to disprove the universality of this 
statement. Wide variability in the age of coming into bearing has 
been noted with seedlings of other tropical fruits, especially the 
avocado, but the litchi appears most extreme in this respect. 
Layered trees, if rooted from large branches, frequently flower in 
one year in China, although under the best methods of cultivation 
the first year's flowers are removed to prevent exhaustion by fruit 
bearing, a proceeding sometimes followed during the second year. 
Under Hawaiian conditions, however, even layered trees commonly 
do not bear as young as do the trees in China, several years usually 
elapsing before any fruit is produced. The fact that most of the 
trees of which record exists in Hawaii have been planted on uplands 
may cause their comparative tardiness in coming into bearing. This 
possibly may be overcome when the needs of the tree are understood 
more clearly and supplied more definitely. 
The productivity of the litchi is said to last for centuries in its 
native home, and while it would not be safe to depend upon such 
allegations, it is a well-established fact that the tree continues to 
produce liberal crops of fruit through many years. 
From the limited data on the litchi in Hawaii, the yield of fruit of a 
good, mature tree may be placed at 200 to 300 pounds per season. 
Some trees are reported to have produced about 1,000 pounds. 
As has been stated, in picking the fruit it is customary to break off 
branches 10 to 12 inches long with the clusters, which are taken to 
market in this condition and sold by weight, including the branches 
and leaves. In some fruits, bought on condition that no branch 
exceed 5 inches in length below the fruits, it was found that the sticks 
constituted 3 per cent of the total weight. In an analysis of this 
particular lot it was found that the seeds constituted 17.03, the skin, 
or shell, 7.86, and the flesh 75.1 per cent of the weight of the fruit. 
The fruits of the litchi very quickly lose their bright color and with it- 
their attractive appearance in the market. It is important to pre- 
