SUBSTITUTES FOR WAX. 



77 



and druggist. But for perfumery purposes, for the polishing of furni- 

 ture, and the " waxing " of thread, substitutes may with advantage be 

 looked for ; and the fitness for any of these purposes will indicate pretty 

 well the fitness of the material in hand for other special purposes, which 

 it would add too much to the length of the present paper to notice in 

 full. I have also indicated the prices (quoted a few months ago, and, 

 of course, subject to variation), and the melting point. 



Spermaceti is too well known to call for any remark : stearine and 

 paraffin greatly resemble it when pure, but the former is subject to a 

 greasy, rancid odour, and the latter to the odour of coal tar ; they are 

 both more crumbly than spermaceti, the paraffin especially, being readily 

 rubbed to powder, and both are purely white. China and Japan wax 

 greatly resemble good block white wax in their general appearance, but 

 are liable to become coated with a fine white efflorescence resembling 

 the bloom upon many kinds of fruit ; they have a toughness somewhat 

 inferior to wax, and when a knife is forced into them, they break with 

 a crackling sound ; they are both almost destitute of odour, and what 

 they have is not objectionable : of the two, the Chinese wax most nearly 

 resembles the product of the bee. 



Carnauba wax, on the other hand, differs greatly from all the others. 

 It is hard, brittle, and darker coloured than the others ; in physical 

 properties it seems to hold a position between white wax and sulphur ; 

 it takes a fine polish when rubbed with any soft material ; and it is so 

 hard as not to take finger-marks with the heat of the hand : it is suitable 

 for furniture polishes, either alone or mixed with Japan wax or beeswax. 



Table op Wax Substitutes, Showing their Comparative Merits 

 and Prices. 



For thread. 



Furniture. 



& 



£ 



a 



n 



<5 







to 

 3 





deg. 



Good 



145 



Good 





Good 





Good 





Good 



112 



Good 



144 



Good 



115 



Good 



118 



Bad 



192 



Bad 



131 



Price. 



Genuine Block White Wax 

 White Cake Wax (adult.) 

 Jamaica Yellow Wax . . 



English ditto 



Spermaceti 



Stearine 



Tree Wax, Japan .... 

 Insect Wax, China .... 

 Carnauba Wax .... 

 Paraffin 



Good 

 Medium 



Good 



Good 



Bad 



Bad 

 Med. Good 

 Med. Good 



Bad 

 Med. Bad 



Good 

 Medium 



Good 



Good 



Bad 



Bad 

 Medium 

 Medium 



Good 



Bad 



s. d. 

 2 10 

 2 4 



1 10 



2 1 

 1 5 



1 4 

 10 



2 8 



10 



1 5 



The quality of some of these materials is subject to considerable 

 variation : thus, paraffin may be obtained quite free from odour ; and if 

 so, might possibly be used without disadvantage in the preparation of 



