American Bee Journal. 



EDITED AND PUBLISHED BY SAMUEL WAONER, WASHINOTON, D. C. 



Vol. ITT. 



OCTOUEU, 1JS*0^ 



No. 4. 



Wax. 



This is an organic ]>rocluct of both auinial and 

 vciietable origin, and occvirring eve7i as a nun- 

 oral' though in this ease also, its original source 

 is undoubtedlj^ vegetaltle. Tlie common prop- 

 erties ot" tlic substances included under this 

 name are fusibility at a moderate heat ; burning 

 with much flame ; insolubility in water, and 

 solubility in alkaline solutions, alcohol, and 

 ether ; and in most cases a peculiar lustre, to 

 which the name of "waxy" lias been given. 

 The most important of these substances is bees- 

 wax, which was for a long time supposed to be 

 simplj^ collected by the bees from flowers, but 

 has been proved by tlie experiments of Huber 

 and the Huiaters, to be secreted by them. It is 

 obtained in the cakes in Avhich it appears in 

 commerce, by boiling the comb fromwhicii the 

 honey lias leen drained or pressed out in water, 

 witli frequent stirring, that the wax may not 

 burn. When completely melted, the wax is 

 strained by pressure through hair bags, and 

 received in a vessel of cold water, which serves 

 to cool it and prevent it from sticking. This is 

 repeated two or three times, the bags increasing 

 in fineness, and the wax is finally melted with- 

 out water, and poured into moulds wider at the 

 lop than at the bottom, and wetted to prevent 

 sticking. After being filled the moulds are 

 kept in a warm room till the wax has solidified, 

 as otherwise the cakes are apt to crack in the 

 middle. This process is however tedious and 

 somewhat wasteful, and various attempts have 

 been made to find -i more expeditious one, of 

 which Mr. Bagster's appears the most simple. 

 The c mhs are placed in a conical earthen ves- 

 sel filled with a mixture of one ounce of nitric 

 acid to a quart of water. This is set over an 

 open fire till the wax is completely melted, 

 when it is removed from the fire audiillowcd to 

 cool gradually. Tlie product becomes divided 

 into three layers, the uppbr one pure wax, the 

 lowest chiefly impurities, and the middle con- 

 taining suflicient wax to be worth adding to the 

 next melting. A marketable wax is thusobtain- 

 od at a single operation, without straining or 

 pressing. Bees-wax obtained by either of these 

 processes is j'ellow; has an ngreenblo, snmewliaf 



aromatic odor, and a slight but peculiar taste; is 

 rather soft and unctions, though firm; has a gran- 

 ular fracture, butv/hencut shows the character- 

 istic waxy lustre; does not adhere to the fingers, 

 or to the teeth when chewed ; is rendered soft 

 and tenacious by a moderate heat; melts at 

 about 142" F; and has a specific gravity of 

 0,9(50 to 0,965. 



Wax is often adulterated with eartli, meal, 

 rosin, &c. The first two render it brittle and 

 grayish, and may be detected and separated 

 by melting the wax, when the impurities may 

 be strained out. Rosin makes the fracture 

 smooth and shining instead of granular, and 

 may be dissolved in cold alcohol, while the 

 wax remains untouched, Tallow or suet ren- 

 ders the wax softer, and gives it an unpleasant 

 odor when melted. 



Wax is bleached by causing it when melted, 

 to pass through a perforated trough upon the 

 surface of revolving wooden cylinders half im- 

 mersed in water, by which it is formed into 

 films, which are then placed on webs of canvas 

 raised trom the ground, and exposed to the 

 action of the weather until perfectly white. It 

 is, however, generally necessary to repeat the 

 process so as to expose fresh surfaces before the 

 wax can be completely bleached ; and care 

 must be taken to finally remove the wax from 

 the webs of canvass onlj'' in dry weather, as il 

 it is done in damp weather, it retains a grayish 

 tint, which much impairs its value. The films 

 are finall}^ melted and cast into thin circular 

 cakes, known commercially as " virgin wax." 

 When bleached bj' means of chlorine or its 

 compounds, the color is destroyed, but the wax 

 is rendered unfit for mnny purposes, and es- 

 pecially for caudles. Another method of 

 bleaching is to add one pound of melted wax, 

 two ounces pulverized nitrate of soda, and stir 

 in by degress a mixture of one ounce sulphuric 

 acid and nine ounces of water. When all the 

 aciil is added, it is allowed to partially cool, 

 and the vessel is then filled up with boiling 

 water, to remove the sulphate of soda and acid; 

 it is then quite white, translucent in thin slices, 

 shining, harder and less unctuous than the yel- 

 low, without taste or smell ; becomes soft 

 enough to be kneaded at H5<^ to 95- F., and 



