222 
MANUFACTURE   OF   WAX  CANDLES. 
Wax  is  not  well  adapted  for  moulding  on  account  of  its  ten- 
dency to  adhere  to  the  mould,  and  its  great  contraction  in  cool- 
ing ;  and  though  these  difficulties  may  be  overcome,  yet  it  is 
found  more  advantageous  to  make  wax  candles  in  the  manner 
about  to  be  described,  as  they  are  found  to  burn  much  better. 
The  first  process  consists  in  warming  the  wicks  in  a  stove,  and 
then  suspending  them  to  a  hoop  placed  over  a  vessel  of  melted 
wax.  The  workman  pours  the  melted  wax  with  a  ladle  on  to 
each  wick  in  succession,  and  at  the  same  time  causes  the  wick  to 
revolve  on  its  axis  by  the  motion  of  the  fingers.  When  the 
C  candles  are  about  one-third  made,  they  are  allowed  to  cool  for  a 
time,  and  the  operation  of  pouring  repeated  until  the  candles  are 
about  half  made,  which  is  ascertained  by  the  eye  or  by  weighing. 
Whilst  still  warm  they  are  removed  from  the  hooks  and  sub- 
jected to  a  process  of  rolling  between  two  marble  slabs,  so  as  to 
render  them  uniform  in  thickness.  The  upper  end  of  each  candle 
is  now  formed  by  cutting  down  the  wax  to  a  metal  tag  which 
covered  one  end  of  the  wick.  The  candles  are  then  again  sus- 
pended to  the  hoops,  the  end  which  had  previously  hung  down- 
wards being  now  upwards,  and  the  operation  of  basting  and  roll- 
ing repeated  as  often  as  necessary.  Lastly,  the  lower  ends  of 
the  candles  are  cut  off  to  make  them  of  equal  length. 
The  wicks  of  wax  candles  are  always  made  of  twisted  unbleached 
Turkey  cotton,  the  fibre  of  which  appears  better  to  resist  the 
temperature  of  the  highly  heated  wax  during  combustion.  Plaited 
wicks  are  not  adapted  to  wax  candles,  as  the  plaiting,  by 
diminishing  the  capillary  action,  entails  the  employment  of  so 
large  a  wick  that  it  obscures  the  light,  besides  which  it  is  apt  to 
curl  round  and  round  in  the  flame,  and  to  collect  a  quantity  of 
soot. 
The  large  wax  candles  used  in  churches  are  formed  by  laying 
the  wick  on  to  a  slab  of  wax.  which  is  then  folded  over  on  the 
wick,  and  the  candle  finished  by  rolling. 
Long  wax  tapers  are  made  by  winding  the  wick  on  a  drum, 
and  then  leading  it  under  a  guide  roller,  placed  in  a  trough  of . 
melted  wax.  From  this  it  passes  through  a  series  of  holes,  pro- 
gressively smaller,  on  to  a  second  drum,  the  operation  resembling 
somewhat  that  of  wire-drawing.  A  little  turpentine  is  added  so 
as  to  render  the  wax  pliable  enough  to  wind. — London  Pharm. 
Journ.,  Feb.,  1853. 
