Mastic or Mastich (Fa., Mastic ; GEB., Mastix).—The lentisc er mastic shrub (Pistacia Lentiseus) is a native of the Mediterranean coast region, including Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, the islands en the Turkish coast, Syria, Morocco, and the Canaries. Formerly the resinous exuda tion NV118 collected from the plant in Cyprus, and experiment hes proved that it might easily be obtained in some of the ether members of the Archipelago, yet the production is now exclusively confined to tho island of Scie (Chios). The mastic country of Chios is usually flat and stony, with little hills intervening, and few streams. The principal villages engaged iu the iodustry are Calimassia, St. Georges (S. of Anabato), Nenita, Mesta, and Kalamoti, besides about a dozen of minor importance. The shrubs are about the height of a man. The bark of the stems rind branches containa resin-ducts, which require but alight incision to provoke exudation. About June-August, the bark of the stems and chief branches is thickly scored with vertical cuts, the operation being renewed 3-4 times during the period. The exudation flews freely, hardens, and dries, so that about 15-20 days later it can be collected in little baskets lined with white paper or clean cotton wool. The ground beneath the shrubs is kept hard and clean, se that accideatal droppings may net be spoiled. The small quantity spontaneously exuded by the lesser branches is of superlative quantity. A fine tree may yield a total of 8-10 lb., but a shower of raio during the harvest produces disastrous results; frosts are very injurious to the trees, but of rare occurrence. There nre 4 qualities ef mastic :—(1) " Cake" is composed of large pieces, and is considered the best by connoisseurs; it is sold chiefly for use in the seraglios, all Turkish women chewing' mastic ; its price is 120-130 piastres (of 2d.) per oke (of 2.83 lb.), and even more. (2) Large tears are ordinarily worth 90-100 piastres. (3) Small tears or pearls fetch 70-85 piastres, and are used industrially. (4) Mastic mixed with fragments of leaves and with aand is consumed in the manufacture of the Turkish liqueur called rahi or "mastic brandy." Mastic tears are pale-yellow or slightly greenish, the colour deepening with age; they are either dusty and opaque, or washed and glassy externally and transparent internally. They are brittle, with conchoidal fracture, and a turpentinous balsamic odour, aud are readily distinguishable from sandarach by softening and kneading in tbe mouth. The ap. gr. is 1.04-1-07 ; the softening-point is Str-99° (176°-210° F.), the melting-point, 105°-120° (221°-248° F.). The resin diaselves in half its weight ef pure warm acetone, and slowly in 5 parts cleve-oil. The mediciaal use ef mastic in Europe is a thing of the past, and the little that arrives here is employed in varnish-making. All the good qualities are sonsumed in the Levant. Chios exported 28,000 lb. " picked " and 42,000 lb. " common '' mastic in 1871. The approximate London market value is 2s. 6d.-4s. 6d. a lb.
In the Indian bazars, another mastic is met with, which is afforded by Pistacia eabulica and P. Khinjuk, trees found growing all ever Sind, Beluehistan, and Afghanistan. The better qualities much resemble Chian mastic—being sold as mustagi-rumi ("Roman mastic") in India— and sometimes appear in the European markets as " E. Indian '' or "Bombay " mastic.
The Arab tribes of N. Africa collect the resin of P. atlantica (see Turpentine—Chian, p. 1687), and use it as mastic.
Tlae term " Cape mastic " has been applied to the resinous exudation of the resin-bush or harpuis-bosch, (Eur,yops multifidus), growing plentifully at the Cape, notably in the Clanwilliam district, and utilized by the colonists. •
The product exported from Manilla as " gurn mastic " is probably dammar (see p. 1644).
Mezquite, Mesquit, or Mosqueit.—The mezquite tree (Prosopis glandulosa) is a native of the W. States of America, ranging from the Canada river southwards into Mexico, appearing in Texas, not far from the coast, and constituting the moat abundant tree as far west as Colorado and tlae Gulf of California. It frequents dry and elevated situations where scarcely anything else will grow. Other species are named P. dulcis and P. juti,flora. From natural fissures in the bark of the stem and branches, there spontaneously exudes a gum which can hardly be distinguished from Acacia gums (see Arabic, pp. 1630-3, especially Senegal), and is quite suitable for replacing thcm. As it exudes, it concretes into tears and lumps of various sizes, ranging in colour from pale-yellow to dark-amber. It is very brittle and pulverulent, and has a brilliant fracture. The quantity yielded by one tree is I oz.-3 lb., the best being from the branches ; it might probably be much iucreased by judicious incibing. As much as 12,000 lb. of the gum has been gathered in one year in Bexar county, Texas, and a like quantity between that and the coast. It is sent to San Francisco from the Mexican porta of the Pacific, and has recently been exported. The commercial value of the finest Mexican gum is about Is. a lb.
1Vlochurrus, Mucherus, Mojrus, or Mochras.—This is an astringent, gummy exudation, forming irregular, inflated, hollow, dark-brown excrescences on the Salmatias malabarica, and apparently a result of a diseased action, whose origin has not yet been investigated. It is used medicinally by the natives of S. and W. India, mainly for its astringent qualities.
Moringa.—Moringa gum is afforded by Dforinga pterygosperma (see Ben-oil, pp. 1378-9), and has sometimes been confounded with machurrus. The samples vary in colour from red and pink to ahnost white ; and in shape, from stalactitic pieces to tears. It is insoluble in water. It is obtained in great quantity, and has been proposed as a substitute for tragacanth, but its colour would pro bably he an obstacle. About 8.3 per cent. of the natural gum is soluble in alcohol, and 7.85 of the remainder in ether, while the residue is almost completely dissolved by alkalies.
Myrrh (FR , Dlyrrhe ; GER., Iffyrrhe).—The sources of myrrh have been a puzzle to generations of pharmacologists, and though the recent labours of Wykeham Perry, Capt. Hunter, and Dr. Tiimen have helped to remove some of the doubt surrounding the subject, there is still abundant scope for further research. That myrrh is afforded by one or more species of Balsumodendron seems certain. The greater part, the arnyrrh proper (" African" or " Turkey " myrrh), called miir by the Arabs, mu/mu/ by the Somal, and hira-bol in India, is ascribed to B. Illyrrha, the didthin of the Somal, which Trimen thinka may prove to be identical with the Indian B. Berryi. But there is a second kind of myrrh, bolding an intermediate position between true myrrh and the bdelliums, once known as " E. Indian nayrrh," the bissa-bol of Indian commerce, and habaghadi of the Somal and Arabs ; this has been referred by Holmes to B. Kafal. A third variety of myrrh, called Arabian" by Hanbury, is obtained in the country lying E. of Aden, from a plant which differs considerably from B. 111,yrrha, and which the Kew authorities are inclined to consider as B. Opobal samum, and identical with Berg's B. Ehrenbergianurn.