WAX. 



while yet warm, in wooden, earthen, or metalline moulds ; 

 having firft; anointed them with honey, oil, or water, to pre- 

 vent the wax from flicking. Some, to purify it, make ufe 

 of Roman vitriol, or copperas ; but the true fecret is to 

 melt, fcum it, &c. properly, without any ingredients at 

 all. 



The belt is that of a high colour, an agreeable fmell, 

 fomewhat refembling that of honey, foft, fomewhat unc- 

 tuous to the touch, but not fticking to the fingers, nor 

 to the teeth when chewed. When new, it is of a lively yel- 

 low colour; it is fomewhat tough, yet eafy to break ; by 

 age, it lofes its fine colour, and becomes harder and more 

 brittle. In winter it becomes confiderably hard and tough. 

 It is deprived of its yellow colour and fmell by expofing it 

 in thin laminae to the aftion of the light and air, in the pro- 

 cefs of bleaching ; by which it becomes perfeftly white, 

 fcentlefs, fomewhat harder,and lefs greafy to the touch. How- 

 ever, wax is often fophifticated with refui, or pitch, coloured 

 rocou, or turmeric. 



The prefence of refin may be fufpedled when the frafture 

 appears fmooth and fhining, inftead of being granulated : and 

 it may be faturated by putting fmall pieces of the wax into 

 cold alcohol, which will readily diffolve the refinous part, 

 without affefting the wax in any confiderable degree. 



Its adulteration with earth or peas meal may be fufpefted 

 when the cake is very brittle, and the colour inclining more 

 to grey than bright pale yellow ; and they may be feparated 

 by fmelting and Itrainingthe wax. White wax is fometimes 

 adulterated with white oxyd of lead, in order to increafe its 

 weight. This may be known by melting the wax in water, 

 ■when the oxyd falls to the bottom of the veffel. 



It is alfo adulterated by tallow, fuel, or any kind of ani- 

 mal fat. It then becomes more fufible, and when rebleached 

 and expofed to a hot fun, it is very apt to cake. It like- 

 wife lofes its femi-tranfparency,the diftinguifliing property of 

 pure bleached wax. This adulteration may be detefted by 

 boihng alcohol, which will didolve wax, but not tallow. 



Wax, White. The whitening, blanching, or bleaching 

 of wax, is performed by reducing the yellow fort, firft, 

 into little bits or grains, and melting it in a copper cauldron, 

 with water juft fufficient to prevent the wax from burning. 

 The cauldron in which the wax is melted is fo difpofed, that 

 it may flow gradually through a pipe at the bottom into a 

 large tub filled with water, and covered with a thick cloth, 

 to preferve the heat till the water and impurities are fet- 

 tled. From this tub the clear melted wax flows into a veflel, 

 the bottom of which is full of fmall holes, about the fize of 

 a grain of wheat, and hence it falls in fmall ftreams upon a cy- 

 hnder, conitantly revolving over water, into which it occa- 

 fiopally dips, fo that the wax is cooled, and at the fame 

 time drawn out into thin Ihreds or ribbands. The conti- 

 nual rotation of the cylinder carries off thefe ribbands as fait 

 as they are formed, and diftributes them through the tub. 

 The wax, thus granulated or flatted, is expofed to the air 

 on linen cloths, ftretched on large frames, about a foot or 

 two above the ground, in which fituation it remains night 

 and day for feveral days, expofed to the air and fun ; and 

 thus the yellow colour nearly difappears. In this half- 

 bleached ftate, it is heaped up in a folid mafs, and allowed to 

 remain for a month or fix weeks ; after which, to complete 

 the procefs for whitening it, it is re-melted, and ribbanded, 

 and bleached as before, (in fome cafes feveral times) till it 

 wholly lofes its colour and fmell. Some manufacturers, in 

 re-melting it, add alum or cream of tartar, which are fup- 

 pofed to increafe the whitenefs and foHdity of the wax. 

 Some alfo, inilead of fpreading the ribbands of wax on 

 Vol.. XXXVIII. 



cloths, lay evenly a broad courfe of bricks, which are fre- 

 quently watered, fo that the wax is kept from melting by 

 the fun's heat abforbed by the bricks. 



When the fun and air have at length perfedtly blanched 

 the wax, fome melt it for the lafl; time in a large kettle ; 

 out of which they cafl: it, with a ladle, upon a table, co- 

 vered over with httle round dents or cavities, of the form of 

 the cakes of white wax, as fold by the apothecaries, &c. 

 having firft wetted thofe moulds with cold water, that the 

 wax may be the more eafily got out. Laftly, they lay out 

 thefe cakes to the air for two days and two nights, to ren- 

 der it more tranfparent and dry. 



As the volatile fulphureous acid has the property of de- 

 ftroying more quickly almoft all the colours of vegetables, it 

 has been fuggefted by Macquer, the author of the Chemical 

 Diftionary, that this bleaching might perhaps be fhortened, 

 by expofing ribbands of yellow wax to the vapour of fuJ- 

 phur, as is praftifed for wool and filk ; but this procefs has 

 not been found to fucceed. 



However, the operation of bleaching v;ax above defcribed 

 can be performed well only in fine weather, as it depends 

 chiefly on the aftion of the fun. This circumftance being 

 attended with much inconvenience to the manufafturers, the 

 difcovery of a method of whitening wax independently of 

 the feafons would be very ufeful, and has been recommended 

 to the attention of chemiils by fome economical focieties. 



With a view to difcover fuch a method, Mr. Beckman 

 has made experiments, an account of which is publiflied in 

 the fifth volume of the " Novi Commentarii Societatis Re- 

 gia: Scientiarum Gottingenfis." According to thefe experi- 

 ments, thin pieces of yellow wax were whitened and har- 

 dened, by being digefted and boiled in diluted and undi- 

 luted nitrous acid, in a few hours. But the wax tlius 

 whitened, being melted by means of boiliiig water, was ob- 

 ferved to acquire a yellow colour, lefs iiitenfe, however, than 

 it was before it had been treated with the mineral acids. 

 The marine and vitriohc acids were Icfa efi"eiitual than the 

 nitric or nitro-nmriatic. He expofed wax to the flames of 

 burning fulphur, but without fuccefs. Yellow wax being 

 melted in vinegar, was rendered of a grey colour. The oil 

 of tartar whitened wax, but lefs effetlually than acids had 

 done ; and this wax being wafhed in water, and afterwards 

 digefted in nitrous acid, was rendered ftill more white; 

 but upon melting it in water, a yellowifli tinge returned. He 

 liquefied wax in folutions of nitre and alum, but without 

 any good eff'eft. Spirit of vi'ine, which is recommended by 

 Mr. I3oyle for this purpofe, did indeed whiten the wax, but 

 changed it to a butyraccous fubftance, fo frotliy, that its 

 bulk was increafed thirty times. Reflefting that tartar is 

 purified from its oily particles by means of a calcareous 

 earth, he tried the effefts of a kind of fuller's earth, which 

 he threw upon wax liquefied in water, and he agitated the 

 mixture. This method rendered wax of a greyiih colour, 

 and is, therefore, recommended by him as preparatory to 

 bleaching ; the time neceflary for whicii, he thinks, may be 

 thus greatly fliortened. 



M. Sennebier made fome remarks on the efFeft of light, 

 and other fuppofed difcolouring agents. Some yellow wax 

 was melted, and thinly fpread upon a plate of glafs ; and a 

 fimilar plate was laid upon it when hot ; and the edges of the 

 plates were clofed with fealing-wax. Thus the bees'-wax 

 was deprived of the accefs of air, and it was placed in the 

 fun, to the hght of which it was expofed for four or five 

 hours daily. Another quantity of wax was inclofed be- 

 tween plates in a like manner, but kept in the dark. In 

 two days the wax expofed to the fun began tp bleach, and 

 Cc in 



