192 ON THE WAX TREE OF LOUISIANA. 



It is greenlih ways of a greenifli yellow. It is of a firmer confiftence thai* 

 and°more brittle ^ ees wax » ^ * s dry, and fufficiently friable to be pulverized, 

 than bees wax, In a word, it is evidently more oxigenated than the wax 

 candles^and" P re P ared b y bees - Candles made of the wax of the myrica 

 emits a fragrant afford a white flame, a good light, without (moke, and do 

 fmell. no t g U tter ; they emit when quite frefh a balfamic odour, 



which the inhabitants of Loaifiana confider as extremely 

 In diftillation it wholefome for perfons in ill health. When drilled in a re- 



hirr?^ Hke tort this wax P affes over for the moft P art m the form of buU 

 ter. This portion is much whiter, and has no more confift- 

 ence than tallow. Another portion that was decompofed af- 

 forded a little water, with fome empyreumatic oil, and febacic 

 acid. Much carbonated hidrogen gas, and carbonic acid ga» 

 were difengaged ; there remained in the retort a black and 

 coaly bitumen. Wax ufually is affecled in the fame manner 

 by diftillation. 



Ither diflblves I have already mentioned, that alcohol diflblves the wax of 



LkohoL than the m > rica » but ether d "»o lves ^ better, and it feparates in 

 the form of ftalagmites by the evaporation of the liquid; nei- 

 ther of them difcolour it. If this wax be boiled with weak 

 fulphuric acid it becomes paler, but there is no evident com- 

 bination of the acid with it. The yellow bees wax under the 

 fame circumftances did not change colour. 



Ox. mur. acid Oxigenated muriatic acid renders both kinds of wax perfectly 



bleaches it. w hite. The vegetable wax is the moft difficult to be bleached. 



It is foluble in Vegetable wax diflblves in ammonia: the folution is of a 

 brown colour ; a portion of the wax is faponified. Volatile 

 alkali has muchlefs a6tion on bees wax. 



and forme foap Both kinds of wax when ftrongly agitated in a boiling 

 ' folution of cauftic potalh, become white and form a real foap- 

 as Kalm obferved. 



Its whitenefs m ^ e whitenefs acquired by the wax during this faponifica* 

 tion is not a new phenomenon. Chaptal in his procefs for 

 bleaching by the vapor of alkaline leys, proves that the colour- 

 ing principle of vegetables yields to the action of alkalis. 

 Some chemifts have attributed this effect to the dired com- 

 bination of the foda or potafli with the coloured extract, a 

 combination which makes it almoft of a foapy quality ^ and 

 renders it foluble. 



Chemical obfer- j ap p re hend that in this operation, the alkali exercifes a 

 Vitionon the ox- rr r 



igenation of the 4 0U ^ e attraclion on the oil or wax, firft directly with the con- 

 S in foap. ftituent 



