WAX. 



they exchange with the Moors for fait ; 60 miles E.S.E. 

 of Benowm. 



WAX, a term which comprehends two or three fub- 

 ftances, differing in their nature and origin, and yet poffeff- 

 ing feveral common properties. The common properties 

 of the animal and vegetable prodnftions, of which we (hall 

 give a brief account in the fequel of this article, are fufibi- 

 lity at a moderate heat ; when kindled, burning with much 

 flame ; infolubility in water ; folubility in alkahes, and alfo 

 in alcohol and ether ; in which two latter properties all the 

 fpecies of wax differ from the concrete oils, to which in 

 other refpefts they bear a very ftrong refemblance. The 

 moil important, and moft generally known and ufed of thefe 

 iubftances, is 



Bees'-rwax, excreted from the body of the bee, and em- 

 ployed by thefe infefts in the conitruftion of their cells, 

 both for the accommodation of their young and the depo- 

 fition of their honey. Of this fubftancc, a young hive will 

 yield at the end of the feafon about a pound of wax ; and 

 an old hive about twice as much. The fineft wax is that 

 which is made in dry, heathy, or hilly countries ; but in 

 parts abounding with vineyards it is decidedly inferior. 

 Although the commonly received notion, which afcribes 

 this iubllance to the elaboration of the pollen of flowers, 

 which the bees vifibly coUedt on their thighs, had received 

 tlie fanftion of obfervers not lefs diftinguilhed than Bonnet 

 and Reaumur (fee Pain D' Abeilles) , yet the Lufatian So- 

 ciety, as long ago as the year 1768, was not unacquainted 

 with the faft, tl>at the wax, inftead of being difcharged from 

 the mouth, is fecreted in the form of thin fcales among the 

 abdominal rings or fegments. In 1792, the celebrated Mr. 

 John Hunter detefted the genuine refervoir of the wax under 

 the belly of the bees, and gave an account of his obferva- 

 tions in the Philofophical Tranfa&ions, (vol. Ixxxii. part i.) 

 On elevating the lower fegments, he obferved plates of a 

 ifufible fubilance, which he afcertained to be wax ; and he 

 I was convinced, that an effential difference fubfifts between 

 the pollen, which thefe little creatures coUeft with fo much 

 iCare and induftry in the form of pellets on their thighs, and 

 'the matter of which the combs are conftrufted. This 

 icurious fubjeft has been further inveftigated by Meffrs. 

 iHuber, father and fon ; and they have demonftrated the 

 [organs in which the wax is fecreted, though they had eluded 

 ,the perfpicuity of Swammerdam, Hunter, and other acute 

 .anatomifts. Thefe facklets, or fmall compartments, now mi- 

 inutely explained and illuftrated by engravings, are peculiar to 

 ithe working bees, which alone produce wax ; and each in- 

 dividual is furniflied with eight of them. The waxy matter, 

 I as it occurs in a tranfuded ftate in the fecretory organs, 

 I differs from the frefh wax of the combs only in being of a 

 I lefs compounded nature, which has been afcertained by 

 'trials with fpint of turpentine and fulphuric ether. Profe- 

 . cuting thefe refleftions, our ingenious authors concluded that 

 the common opinion was probably erroneous ; becaufe, like 

 ; Hunter, they had obferved fwarms, newly placed in the 

 [empty hives, conftruA their combs without fetching home 

 I any pollen ; while the bees of old hives, where no freih cells 

 i were required, neverthelefs provided an ample ftock of this 

 powder. In order, however, to determine the point more 

 ' direftly, they confined a recent fwarm within an empty 

 I ftraw-hive, leaving at their difpofal only a fufficiency of 

 , honey and water for their confumption, and preventing them 

 I from going beyond the precinfts of a well-clofed room ; 

 j when, in the fliort fpace of five days, they had conftrufted 

 five cakes of a beautiful white though very fragile wax. 

 ' This experiment was repeated, and was uniformly accom- 

 I panied by fimilar refults ; and therefore they no longer hefi- 



tated m admitting the faft, that honey, through the organic 

 intervention of bees, may be converted into wax. In order 

 to determine whether vegetable pollen, alfo, was fufceptible 

 of this converfion, the honey was wholly removed, and the 

 confined bees were fed on fruits and pollen, of which lad a 

 large ftore was left at their difpofal ; but, though they con- 

 tinued in this fituation during eight days, they neither made 

 any wax, nor exhibited any plates under their abdominal 

 rings. Having fufpeded that the fecretion of wax origi- 

 nated in the cohefive principle contained in honey, our 

 authors recurred to various experiments, which conftantly 

 proved that fugar alone was an excellent fubftitute for honey, 

 and, on fome occafions, afforded a fuperior wax. They 

 afterwards found, that bees, when left at perfeft hberty to 

 roam abroad, aft precifely on the fame principle in the con- 

 ftruftion of their combs ; and thty alfo difcovered, that la- 

 bourers of two defcriptions exift in each hive. The firtt, 

 fufceptible of acquiring confiderable dimenfions, when they 

 have received all the honey which their ftomachs can con- 

 tain, are principally deftined to the elaboration of the wax ; 

 while the fecond, whofe abdomen undergoes no fenfible 

 change of bulk, neither gather nor retain more honey than ' 

 is neceffary for immediate fubfiftence, and readily fliare that 

 which they colledl with their companions ; who take no 

 charge of lloring the hive with provifions, their appropriate 

 office being to attend the young. Thefe they call nurfing 

 or fmall bees, in contradiftinftion to thofe with dilated bel- 

 lies, and which, as they fay, are entitled to the appellation 

 of " wax-workers." The exiftcnce and feparate offices of 

 thefe two forts of bees were fufficiently afcertained. When 

 the hives are filled with combs, the wax-working bees dif- 

 gorge their honey into the ufual magazines, and produce no 

 more wax ; but, if they have no receptacle in which they 

 can depofit it, and if the queen finds no cells formed ready 

 for the reception of her ova, they retain in their ftomachs 

 the honey which they had amaffed ; and, at the end of 24 

 hours, the wax oozes out between the rings, when the 

 fabrication of the combs commences. The nurfing bees 

 alfo produce wax, but in a much fmaller quantity than the 

 others. 



As for the ufe of the pollen, our authors have afcertained, 

 that it is collefted for the purpofe of feeding the young ; 

 and they have alfo found, that bees, fed too long on the 

 fyrup of fugar alone, are incapable of rearing their offspring, 

 and at length defert the hive. The waxy matter, when 

 newly fecreted and moulded in its appropriate organs, differs 

 from real wax in being tranfparent like fcales of talc, white, 

 and quite friable, or brittle ; whereas that of which the 

 cells are compofed is of a yellowilh-white, opaque, and 

 flexible. Our limits will not allow our defcribmg the pro- 

 cefs obferved by our authors with the aid of a glafs appa- 

 ratus, by which thefe infefts commence and conduft the 

 conftruAion of their combs. The difference of afpeft and 

 confiftency between cells juft formed, and thofe which are 

 of older ftanding, cannot fail to attraft the attention of every 

 obfervant apiarian. The former are, in faft, of a dull white 

 colour, femi-tranfparent, foft, and even, without being 

 fmooth ; but, in the courfe of a few days, the whole of 

 their internal furface affumes a yellow tint of greater or lefs 

 intenfity : their fliarp edges become thicker and lefs regu- 

 lar ; and thofe tubes, which at firft could not refift the 

 flighteft preffure, become flexible, fomewhat more heavy, 

 and more difficult of fohition in hot water. The contour 

 of the orifice of mature cells is bound with a rim of a reddifli 

 and odorous refin, which is alfo employed to cement the 

 angles of other parts of the cell. This folder or varnifh is 

 found, on chemical trial, to be identical with the propolis, 

 II and 



