Commerce—The consumption of raisins in Great Britain is very large and is increasing. The imports into the United Kingdom have been as follows:—
| 1870. | 1871. | 1872. | 1876. |
| 365,418 | 427,056 | 617,418 | 583,860 cwt. |
| val. £593,527. | val. £707,344. | val. £1,149,337. | val. £1,058,406. |
Of the quantity mentioned for 1872 there were 400,570 cwt. shipped from Spain, 176,500 cwt. from Asiatic Turkey, and the remainder from other countries.[649] It is stated that Greece, in 1874, exported about 1⅓ millions of cwt., value £28,000,000; much of this was shipped to England.
Uses—Raisins are an ingredient of Compound Tincture of Cardamoms and of Tincture of Senna. They have no medicinal properties, and are only used for the sake of the saccharine matter they impart.[650]
ANACARDIACEÆ.
MASTICHE.
Mastix, Resina Mastiche; Mastich; F. Mastic; G. Mastix.
Botanical Origin—Pistacia Lentiscus L., the lentisk, is a diœcious evergreen, mostly found as a shrub a few feet high; but when allowed to attain its full growth, it slowly acquires the dimensions of a small tree having a dense head of foliage. It is a native of the Mediterranean shores from Syria to Spain, and is found in Portugal, Morocco and the Canaries. In some parts of Italy it is largely cut for fuel.
Mastich is collected in the southern and south-western part of the island of Scio, which was long regarded as the only region in the world capable of affording it. Experiments made in 1856 by Orphanides[651] have proved that excellent mastich might be easily obtained in other islands of the Archipelago, and probably also in Continental Greece. The same botanist remarks that the trees yielding mastich in Scio are exclusively male.
History—Mastich has been known from a very remote period, and is mentioned by Theophrastus,[652] who lived in the 4th century before the Christian era. Both Dioscorides and Pliny notice it as a production of the island of Chio, the modern Scio.