208 PHARMACOPEIAL DRUGS 



ishly scarified with superficial incisions. The resinous 

 juice immediately begins to exude and drips to the 

 earth, where it gradually hardens, in different qualities 

 as concerns cleanliness. It thus becomes a conglom- 

 erate of isolated tears, agglutinated fragments, and 

 masses of uneven consistence, the quality being in- 

 versely in accordance with the foreign matter present, 

 such as fragments of bark, leaves, sand and dirt. Since 

 a single large shrub is capable of producing ten to twelve 

 pounds, and the resinous tears drop in profusion beneath 

 the shrubs, the glitter of the crystal masses on the 

 limbs, in the sunshine, is very pleasing. 



When the fallen tears are dry, or hard enough to be 

 handled, the mastic is picked up by means of tongs or 

 pincers, put into baskets, and sold to local dealers. 

 It is then called "kilista" (spelled for me by Mr. Agop 

 Alpiar, of Smyrna). The merchant employs girls and 

 women to separate the grades, of which the large, 

 single, 'transparent tears are "first." This quality is 

 largely used by the rich Turkish ladies, who chew it as 

 a breath perfume. The irregular, semi-opaque masses 

 constitute the second quality, whilst the mixture of 

 small fragments, of all consistencies, makes a third, 

 very low grade. 



Opalescence or dullness of mastic globules or tears 

 may be due to dust on the surface, to adhering impur- 

 ities, or to scratched or abraded surfaces. In order to 

 brighten the product, the hard, dry fragments are 

 placed in tanks of cold water and hand-washed, some- 

 times with a preliminary scrubbing with soap-suds. 

 The friction between the fragments removes the dust 

 and brightens the surface to a glass-like transparency. 

 The process is most successful in cool, dry weather, 



