6 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
In Groff’s book, later referred to, he has this to say 
about the ancestors of the Brewster Lychee. 
“Of the various Chinese treatises on the Lychee, that of 
Ts’ai Hsiang, A. D. 1059, is the earliest and most famous.” He 
treats of the extent of territory over which the lychee is 
grown and proclaims his zeal to place this fruit in the posi- 
tion it deserves among the fruits of the world. He had artists 
draw pictures of the best varieties he had seen and these he 
classified. In the second chapter he deals with the Lychee in 
his native province, Fukien, and he names one variety, the 
“Chen family purple lychee” of which he says that though 
there are a thousand varieties and ten thousand trees, no 
other one can compare with this. He says of it, “When the Chen 
family are about to harvest their crop of lychee, they close 
all their gates or doors and people desiring to purchase the 
fruit must hand in their money through an aperture in the 
wall, receiving in return its equivalent in lychee fruit. For 
that which the purchaser was able to obtain he was thankful 
and considered himself lucky, never daring to argue whether 
the price was too much or too little.” 
Groff writes that Dr. Olfert Dapper, Dutch traveller in 
his work published in Amsterdam in 1670, reports that in 
Chungkinfu, Szechwan, the lychee grows everywhere in great 
abundance; and that in south-west Fukien, especially in 
Hinghwafu, it grows in still greater abundance. He says that 
when the tree is in fruit it seems to be decorated with purple 
hearts and is greatly admired by onlookers. He concludes, 
“The flesh almost melts like sugar in the mouth, and does not 
hurt anybody. Rightly may this fruit be called ‘Queen of 
Bruits 2 
CULTURAL REQUIREMENTS 
The soil requirements of the Lychee are about the same 
as for citrus, the tree preferring a somewhat acid soil. A pH 
of 6 seems best. The water table should be at least two and 
one-half feet down. 
We quote from the bulletin on “The Litchi in South Af- 
rica” by Dr. Raimond H. Marloth, officer in charge of the sub- 
tropical experiment station at Nelspruit, E. Transvaal: 
“A favorite situation for the Chinese to plant their litchi 
trees is on dykes between the rice fields and on banks of 
streams. This ensures that the roots of the tree always have 
access to an abundance of water right throughout the year, 
particularly from time of flower-bud differentiation (May- 
June in South Africa) to fruit harvest (December-January in 
South Africa). However, it is essential, first, that this un- 
derground supply of water be moving, for stagnant water 
results in rotting of roots, and secondly, that the surface of 
