C A. H D L E» 
710 
neatli ; which mehs clown gs. much as is requifite. For 
ru/h-lightsy a peeled ruih is ufed for the wick, indead of 
cotton. x 
For mould candles : thefe are made in moulds of differ¬ 
ent matters : brafs, tin, and pewter, are mod ordinary. 
Tin is the bed, and lead is the word. Each candle has 
its mould, confiding of three pieces, the neck, (haft, and 
foot : the fliaft is a hollow metal cylinder, of the diameter 
and length of the candle propofed at the extremity of 
this is the neck, which is a little metallic cavity, in form 
of a.dome, having 3 moulding within-fide, and pierced in 
the middle with a hole big enough for the wick to pafs 
through. At the other extremity is the foot, in form of 
a little tunnel, through which tlie liquid tallow runs in¬ 
fo the mould. The neck is.fokfered to the diaft, but the 
foot is moveable, being applied when the wick is to be 
put in, and tak *1 od' again when the candle is cold. A 
little beneath the place where the foot is applied to the 
fliaft, is a kind of dring of metal, which ferves to fupport 
that part of.the mould, and to prevent the diaft from en¬ 
tering too deep in the m.o'dd-table. In the hook, of the 
foot, is a leaf of the fame metal, foldeied within fide, 
which, advancing into the centre, ferves to keep up the 
wick ; which is here hooked on, precifely in the middle 
©f the mottld., Th,e wick is introduced into the diaft of 
the mould by a piece of wire, which being timid through 
2he aperture of tiie hook, till it come out at the neck, the 
wick is tied to it; fo that in drawing it back, the wich¬ 
rome s along with ir, leaving qnly enough at top for tire 
neck; the other end is fattened to the hook, which thus 
keeps it perpendicular. The moulds, in this condition, 
are difpofed in a table pierced full of holes, the diameter 
cf each being about an inch : thefe hales receive the 
moulds inverted, as far as the dring in the foot. Being 
thus placed perpendicularly, they are filled with meltefl 
tallow drawn out of the tap into a tin pot, and thence 
poured into the foot. After the moulds- have dood long 
enough to cool, for the tallow to acquire its proper con¬ 
fidence,. the candle is taken out, by taking off the foot, 
which brings, the candle along with it. Thofe who aim 
at perfection, bleach or whiten their candles, by fattening 
them on rods or broches, and hanging them out to the 
dew, and earlie.d dawn of the.fun, for.eight or ten days : 
care being taken to fereen them in. the day-time from the 
too intenfe heal of the fun ; and in the night from rain, 
by waxed cloths. 
For wax candles: a cotton or flaxen wick is prepared, 
/lightly.twitted, and covered with white or yellow wax.. 
Of thefe there are feveral kinds; fome called tapers, to 
illuminate, churches, and ufed in proceffions, funeral ce¬ 
remonies,. &c, and others ufed on ordinary occadons. Of 
the fird kind, their figure is conical, ftili diminifhing from 
the bottom, which has a, hole to receive the point in the 
candledick, to the top, which ends in a point : the latter 
kind are cylindrical. The fird. arc either made.-with a la¬ 
dle, or- with the hand. When made with the ladle, the 
wicks being twitted, and cut off at the proper length, a>. 
dozen of them are tied by the neck, at equal didances, 
round an iron-circle, fufpended over a large bafon of cop¬ 
per tinaed, and full of melted wax.: a.large ladle full of; 
this wax is.poured gently, by inclination, on the tops cf 
the wicks, one after another; fo that, running down, the 
whore wick is thus covered ; the ftuplus returning into, 
the bafon, wjie/e it is kept warm by a pan of coals under¬ 
neath it. They thus continue to pour on the wax, till 
the candle arrives at its dedined bignefs : dill obferving, 
that the three fird ladles be poured on-at the top of the 
wick, the fourth at the height of the fifth at jr, and the 
lixth at \ ; by.which means the candle arrives.at its pyra¬ 
midal form. The candles are then, taken down hot, and 
laid afidc of each other, in a feather-bed folded in two, to 
preferve their;warmth, and keep, the wax fo ft: they" are- 
then taken and rolled,, one by one, on an even table, u fu- 
ally of walnut-tree, with a long fq-uare indrument of box, 
huopth .at the bottom. The.candle being thus, rolled and 
fmoothed, its big end is cut off, and a conical hole is made 
in it:—When made by the hand, the wick being difpofed- 
as in the. former, they begin to foften the wax, by work¬ 
ing it feveral times in hot water, contained in a brafs-cal¬ 
dron, tinned, very narrow and deep. A piece of the wax is 
then taken out, and difpofed, by little and little, round 
the wick, which is lmng on a hook in the wall, by the 
extremity oppofite to the neck ; fo that they begin With 
the big end, diminifhing dill, as they defeend towards the 
neck. In othea refpe&s, the method is the fame here as 
in the former-cafe; only that they are not laid.in the bed, 
but are rolled on the table, jud as they are formed. It 
mud be obferved, however, that in the former cafe, wa¬ 
ter is always ufed to moitten the feveral indruments, to 
prevent the wax from dicking ;. and in the latter, lard, or 
oil of olives, for the hands, table, &c._ The cylindrical 
wax candles are made either with the ladle, or drawn. The 
fird kind are made of feveral threads-of cotton, loofely 
fpun, and twitted together, covered with the ladle, and 
rolled, as the conical ones, but not pierced. The bougies 
are called drawn wax candles, becaufe actually drawn, in 
the manner of wire, by means of two large rollers, or cy¬ 
linders of wood,, turned by a handle, which, turning back¬ 
wards and forwards feveral times, pafs the wick through 
melted wax, co.ntained in a brafs bafon ; and at the fame 
time through the holes of an indrument, like that ufed for 
drawing wire, fattened at one fide of the bafon : fo that,, 
by little-and little, the candle acquires its bulk, according 
to the holes of the indrument through which it paffes: by 
this method, may four or five hundred ells at length be 
drawn, running. The invention of this was brought from 
Venice by Pierre Bledma.re, of Paris, about the middle of 
the feventeenth century. 
The afeent of the wax or fallow' up the wick.in a burn¬ 
ing candle, may be refolved into the fame principle of fil¬ 
tration, or attraction, as that of water up a heap of athes, 
or even up a capillary tube. The wick of a candle is but 
flightly twitted, that all its hairs may be- eafily come at ; 
which being very fmall, and abounding in fulphur, foon 
take the dame ; and the flame by its heat rarifying the air, 
and ditto!ving the tallow underneath, makes the'globules 
thereof afeend into the rarefied fpaces of the wick, and 
thefe, with the air about ft, pfove-food for the flame. It 
is obfervable, in optics, that the flame of two candles join¬ 
ed, give a much ft ranger light than both of them feparate. 
.The.observation was fuggeded by Dr. Franklin. Proba¬ 
bly the union of the'two flames produces a greater degree 
of lieat, whereby the vapour is attenuated, and the parti¬ 
cles of which light conufts more copioufly emitted. 
The prefent exifting lawsj'elative- to making candles, are 
as follow : If any wax-chandlers mix with their wares any 
tiling deceitfully, &c. tire candles diall be forfeited. Star, 
23 Eliz. c. 3 . Tallow-chandlers and wax.chandlers, are 
by ftat. 24 Geo. III.- to take out annual licenfes. And 
by dat. 25 Geo. Ill, c. 74. makers of candles dial] be only 
fuch perfons as are rated to the parifh rates. The duties 
are regulated by flat. 27 Geo. III. c. 13. Thefe duties, 
and the various regulations to enforce them, form one of 
the numerous branches of the excife laws, and depend on 
a variety of datutes ; a provifion in one of which is not 
much known, though generally interefting, viz. “during 
the continuance of the duties upon candles, no perfon diall 
ufe in the inft-de of his- houfe any lamp, wherein any oil 
or fat, (other than oil made of fifh within Great Britain) 
diall be burned for giving light, on pain of 40s. ftat. 3 .An, 
c. 9. The makers of candles are not to ufe melting-houfes 
without making a-true entry, on pain of rook and to give 
notice of making.candles to the excife officer for the du¬ 
ties, and of the number, See. or diall forfeit 50I. Stats, 
8*-An. c. 9, 11 Geo. 1 . c. 30. and 23 Geo. II. c. 2-1. 
Modern chemifts confider candles as far from being yet 
brought to that degree of perfection of which they'feem 
fufceptiblc. Thus, for example, the light of a candle, 
which is fo exceedingly brilliant when fird fnu.ffed, is very 
fpeedily diminiflied to one-half, and is ufually not more 
tljMt 
