124 
WAX. 
in the productions of nature. It is found on the 
upper surface of the leaves of many trees in the form 
of a varnish, possessing all the properties of bees- wax. 
The wax -hearing myrtle, ( Myrica Cerifera ,) a shrub 
which grows abundantly in Louisiana and other parts 
of North America, bears a small berry, of which wax 
forms the outer coating, and which, when exposed to 
flame, burns with an agreeable aromatic odour. Dr. 
Darwin supposes that the design of the waxy varnish 
which covers the flowers is “ to glaze over the fecun- 
dating dust of the anthers, and prevent its premature 
explosion from excessive moisture,” and ascribes to an 
unseasonable diffusion of the anther dust, the failure of 
orchard andcorncropsinsummersof extreme humidity. 
The quantity of wax found in this form is small 
compared with that which is produced by the honey- 
bee, and also of inferior quality. When pure, it is 
of a whitish colour, destitute of taste, and with scarcely 
any smell; it grows brown and even blackish with age. 
After manipulation it has an aromatic smell, which, 
however, disappears on exposure to the atmosphere. 
The dust of flowers, called pollen or farina, was long 
supposed to be the element of wax ; and it is a curious 
instance of the tardy progress of the knowledge of 
natural history, that, though the mode in which wax 
is produced by the bees was ascertained beyond all 
doubt by Huber, 40 years ago, the fact is yet little 
known, and scarcely believed ; and farina has, with 
fluidity. And that by such treatment, the honey-dew may 
be entirely prevented, I have often myself witnessed in my 
own garden,” &c. 
