CANDLE 681 



.the wheel must "mate, in order to complete one operation, must obviously depend 

 upon the state of the weather and the size of the candles ; but it is said that, in 

 moderately cold weather, not more than two hours are necessary for a single person to 

 finish one wheel of candles of a common size. Upon the supposition, therefore, that 

 six wheels are completed in one day, no less a number than 7)776 candles will bo 

 manufactured in that space of time by one workman. 



The process of moulding is even-less complicated in its details than that of dipping. 

 The moulds ( are made of some metallic substance, usually pewter, and consist of two 

 parts. The shaft or great body of the mould is a hollow cylinder, finely polished in 

 the inside, and open at both extremities. The top of the mould is a small metallic 

 cup, having a moulding within-side, and a hole to admit the wick. The two parts 

 are soldered together, and when united, as will readily be imagined, have the shape 

 of a moulded candle. A third piece, called the foot, is sometimes added : it is a kind of 

 small funnel, through which the liquid tallow runs into the mould, and being screwed 

 to the opposite extremity of the shaft, is removable at pleasure. This additional 

 piece may certainly be useful in very mild weather ; since, by removing it, the candles 

 may be drawn more easily from the moulds ; but, in general, it may be dispensed with. 



Eight or twelve of these moulds, according to their size, are fixed in a frame, which 

 bears a great resemblance to a wooden stool, the upper surface of which forms a kind 

 of trough. The tops of the moulds point downwards, and the other extremity, which 

 is open, is inserted into the trough or top of the stool, and made quite level with its 

 upper surface. In order to introduce the wicks into the mould, the workman lays 

 the frame upon its side on an adjoining table, and holding in his left hand a quantity 

 of wicks, previously cut to the proper length, he introduces into the mould a long 

 wire with a hooked point. As soon as the hook of the wire appears through the hole 

 in the top of the mould, he attaches to it the looped end of the wick, and, immediately 

 drawing back the wire, brings the wick along with it. In this manner each mould in 

 succession is furnished with a wick. Another workman now follows, and passes a 

 small wire through the loop of each wick. This wire is obviously intended to keep 

 the wick stretched, and to prevent it from falling back into the mould upon the frame 

 being placed in the proper position for filling. The frame is then handed to the 

 person that fills the moulds, who previously arranges the small wires in such a manner 

 that each wick may be exactly in the axis of the mould. 



The moulds are filled by running tallow into each of them, or into the trough, from 

 a cistern furnished with a cock, and which is regularly supplied with tallow of the 

 proper temperature from an adjoining boiler. When the workman observes that the 

 moulds are nearly half filled he turns the cock, and laying hold of that portion of the 

 wick which hangs out of the mould, pulls it tight, and thus prevents any curling of 

 the wick, which might injure the candles ; he then opens the cock, and completes the 

 process of filling. The frame is now set aside to cool ; and when the tallow has 

 acquired a proper consistence, which the workman easily discovers by a snapping 

 noise emitted by the candles upon pressing his thumb against the bottom of the 

 moulds, he first withdraws the small wires which kept the wicks tense, and then, 

 scraping off the loose tallow from the top of the frame with a small wooden spade, he 

 introduces a bodkin into the loop of the wick, and thus draws each candle in suc- 

 cession from its mould. The candles are now laid upon a table for inspection, and 

 afterwards removed to the storehouse. Previous to storing them up, some candle- 

 makers bleach their candles, by exposing them to the air and dews for several days. 

 This additional labour can be necessary only when the dealer is obliged to have early 

 sales ; for if the candles are kept for some months, as they ought to be, before they 

 are brought to market, they become sufficiently whitened by age. 



Wax Candles. Next to tallow, the substance most employed in the manufacture 

 of candles is wax. Wax candles are made either by the hand or with a ladle. In the 

 former case, the wax, being kept soft in hot water, is applied bit by bit to the wick, 

 which is hung from a hook in the wall : in the latter, the wicks are hung round an 

 iron circle, placed immediately over a large copper-tinned basin full of melted wax, 

 which is poured upon their tops, one after another, by means of a large ladle. When 

 the candles have by either process acquired the proper size, they are taken from the 

 hooks, and rolled upon a table, usually of walnut-tree, with a long square instrument 

 of box, smooth at the bottom. 



Spermaceti Candles are moulded in the same manner as those composed of stearine, 

 or stearic acid, to be described presently. 



In June 1825, M. Gay-Lussac obtained a patent in England for making candles from 

 margarie and stearic acids, called stearine, by converting tallow into the above fat 

 acids by the following process : Tallow consists, by Chevreul's researches, of stearine, 

 a solid fat, and oleine, a liquid fat ; the former being in much the larger proportion. 

 When tallow is treated with an alkaline body, such as potash, soda, or lime, it is 



