The Pistachio 253 



mastaki. 1 The Persianized form is masdax; in Kurd it is mstekki. "On 

 these mountains the Mastich Tree brings forth plenty of that gum, of 

 which the country people make good profit. ... As for the Mastick 

 Trees, they bore red berries, and if wounded would spew out the liquid 

 resin from the branches; they are not very tall, of the bigness of our 

 Bully Trees: Whether they bring forth a cod or not, this season would 

 not inform me, nor can I say it agrees in all respects with the Lentisk 

 Tree of Clusius." 2 The resin (mastic) occurs in small, irregular, yellowish 

 tears, brittle, and of a vitreous fracture, but soft and ductile when 

 chewed. It is used as a masticatory by people of high rank in India to 

 preserve the teeth and sweeten the breath, and also in the preparation 

 of a perfume. 8 It is still known in India as the "gum mastic of Rum." 4 

 The case of the pistachio (and there are several others) is interesting 

 in showing that the Chinese closely followed the development of Iranian 

 speech, and in course of time replaced the Middle-Persian terms by the 

 corresponding New-Persian words. 



1 Achundow, Abu Mansur, pp. 137, 267. 



* John Fryer, New Account of East India and Persia, Vol. II, p. 202 (Hakluyt 

 Soc, 1912). 



' Watt, Commercial Products of India, p. 902. 



4 D. C. Phillott, Journal As. Soc. Bengal, Vol. VI, 1910, p. 81. 



