MANUFACTURE   OF   WAX  CANDLES. 
219 
that  is,  palmitate  of  oxide  of  melissyl.  He  has  likewise  been 
able  to  prepare  from  wax  two  new  solid  hydrocarbons  similar  to 
paraffin. 
Paraffin  would  be  much  too  costly  to  be  converted  into  candles 
if  made  from  wax,  as  its  preparation  entails  a  considerable  loss 
of  material ;  it  is,  nevertheless,  desirable  that  it  should  be  ob- 
tained cheaply  from  some  source,  as  it  is  much  better  adapted 
thaii  any  other  substance  for  illuminating  purposes,  from  its  con- 
taining no  element  besides  carbon  and  hydrogen,  which  are  united 
in  equal  equivalents.  It  is  therefore  exactly  of  the  same  com- 
position in  a  hundred  parts  as  olefiant  gas,  which  gives  to  ordi- 
nary coal  and  oil  gases  their  illuminating  power.  Paraffin  can- 
dles have  been  made  from  paraffin  obtained  by  distilling  bitumi- 
nous schist ;  but  far  more  interesting  specimens  are  those  pro- 
duced by  James  Young,  which  seem  to  realize  the  great  problem 
which  the  rare  sagacity  of  Liebig  pointed  out  as  far  back  as  fen 
years  ago.  "  It  would  certainly  be  esteemed  one  of  the  great- 
est discoveries  of  the  age,"  says  he,  "if  any  one  could  succeed 
in  condensing  coal-gas  into  a  white,  dry,  solid,  odorless  substance, 
portable,  and  capable  of  being  placed  upon  a  candlestick  or 
burned  in  a  lamp."  Now,  this  very  problem  Mr.  Young  appears 
to  have  accomplished  by  distilling  coal  at  a  comparatively  low 
temperature,  whereby  he  obtains,  instead  of  gas,  the  product  of 
intense  heat — a  mixture  of  liquid  and  solid  substances  ;  the 
former  capable  of  being  burned  in  lamps  like  sperm  oil  or  of 
being  used  for  lubricating  machinery,  the  latter  yielding  a  beau- 
tiful mould  candle,  as  solid  and  white  as  any  prepared  from 
jDaraffin  from  other  sources.  The  Reporters  have  not  as  yet 
been  able  to  obtain  a  fuller  account  of  the  economical  bearings  of 
Mr.  Young's  process,  which  will  most  likely  be  considered  in  the 
Report  upon  another  class ;  but  they  confidently  hope  that  this 
truly  beautiful  discovery  will  not  meet  with  similar  difficulties  as 
the  plan  proposed  some  years  ago  for  making  paraffin  candles 
out  of  Irish  peat.  If  coal-paraffin  can  actually  be  obtained  in 
sufficient  quantity  and  at  moderate  cost,  we  may  witness  another 
revolution  in  the  processes  of  illumination ;  and  the  brilliant  dis- 
coveries of  Chevreul,  but  lately  threatened  by  the  splendor  of 
the  electric  light,  may  be  eclipsed  by  the  general  adoption  of 
solidified  coal  gas  candles. 
