[1] Holland, Dodoens was a learned Dutch botanist.
The principal and most valued class of raisins are the Muscatels or Muscats. They all derive their name from the Muscatel or Muscat grape, from which these raisins are made. As to the origin of the name Muscat, opinions differ. The most popular one is that the grape got its name from the supposed musky flavor peculiar to this variety of grape. It is, however, far more likely that the name is a very ancient one, and derived from the Latin word _Musca_, meaning a fly,--these fine grapes when drying being especially attractive to flies. The Romans called this grape, “Uva Apiaria,” meaning bee grapes, or grapes beloved by bees, from the fact that the bees are especially attracted to these grapes when they are being dried. The Muscat or Muscatel would then not originally designate a certain variety of grapes, but grapes used for drying generally. In the course of time the name was transferred to or especially given to the _best_ grape for drying purposes,--the Muscatel of our own times.
The finest or at least the most expensive brand of raisins made is the _Dehesa_ raisin of Malaga. They are produced from the Muscatel variety and the name they bear has an interesting origin, giving us at the same time an insight in the development of the agricultural and horticultural resources of Spain. The word “Dehesa” is found by reference to a good Spanish dictionary to mean pasture ground. The “Dehesa” raisins then are pasture-ground raisins, or raisins grown on former pasture ground. The way the raisins came to be given such a name is as follows. Between the years 800 and the end of the fifteenth century, the fairest part of Spain as well as Portugal was occupied by the Moors. Contrary to their nature in other countries, they proved here extremely industrious, and excelled both as merchants, artisans and agriculturists. The waters of the streams were conducted to the land in aqueducts, dams were thrown across the rivers, reservoirs were formed, and the whole of Southern Spain became most highly cultivated, rich and prosperous. In fact, if the historians are to be believed, and the yet remaining views of former grandeur can be trusted, no country either in ancient or modern times has ever in prosperity rivaled the ancient Moorish kingdoms of Granada and Andalusia. In the thirteenth century the Christian knights and kings of Central and Northern Spain succeeded in conquering the Moors, who again were unmercifully expelled, massacred or enslaved, their cities burned and razed, and the fertile and cultivated districts utterly ruined. Vast tracts were depopulated and abandoned, and, nature taking its course, wild grass, shrubbery and trees soon covered the former highly cultivated plains. In the course of time these uncultivated lands attracted the attention of the highland shepherds, who drove their herds to them during the winters, again returning to the mountains at the advent of the dry season.