WAVED, or WAVSY, in heral. dry, is said of a hordore, or any ordina ry, or charge, in a coat of arms, having its outlines indented in manner of the rising and falling of waves ; it is used to denote, that the first of the family in whose arms it stands, acquired its honours for sea-service.
WAN. There are two or three sub stances which resemble each other so closely as to have received the name of wax. The first, and by far the most im portant, is bees' wax, which is consumed in such vast quantities for giving light ; and is also used for a variety of other pur poses. Another kind of wax is the myrtle wax, which is extracted pretty largely in Louisiana, and some other parts of Ame rica, from the myrica ceriferal Another substance very similar to wax is the pc la of the Chinese, the product of an insect,. the exact species of which is not known ; and the white matter which yields the laccic acid has also a strong resemblance to wax. The properties which all these substances have in common are, fusibili ty at a moderate heat ; when kindled, burning with much flame ; insolubility in water, solubility in alkalies, and also in alcohol and ether. In these two latter properties all the species of was differ from the concrete oils, with which, in other respects, they have a very strong resemblance. Bees' wax is the substance, excreted from the body of the bee, of which these insects construct their cells, both those for containing honey and for the lodgment of their young. It is col lected for the use of man wherever bees are kept. A young hive will yield at the end of the season about a pound cf wax ; and an old hive about twice as much. The colour of wax when fresh from the bee, is nearly white, but it soon grows considerably yellow in the hive, or if very old is of a dark brown. The wax which is the ordinary bees' wax of the shops, is a pale yellow substance, of an agreeable honey-like smell, soft, and somewhat unctuous to the totich,but with out sticking to the fingers, in winter be coming considerably hard and tough, and melting at about 142° This yellow co lour and the smell of wax are entirely taken away by exposing it, when divided into thin laminx, to the united action of the light and air, and by this means it be comes perfectly white, scentless, some what harder and less greasy to the touch, and in this state it is employed for can dles and many other purposes. Bleach
ed wax burns with a very pure white light, and gives no offensive smell, and very little smoke compared with tallow.
Being less fusible than tallow it re quires a smaller wick. Bleached wax melts at about 155°, or higher than the unbleached. Its specific gravity is less than that of water, being about .96. Alcohol has no sensible action on wax whin cold, but on boiling it dissolves ra ther less than 1-20th of its weight of wax, the greater part of which separates when i cold the form of white floceuli, and what remains in solution is entirely pre cipitated by water. Wax is soluble abundantly in the fixed oils ; but very sparingly in the essential oils. It is usual. ly supposed that the wax is the pollen of of flowers, which the bees visibly Collect on their thighs, and afterwards elaborate in some unknown way. The great dif' ference between wax and this matter which the bees collect, has however been long remarked. When examined by the microscope, this little mass of pollen is obviously composed of a number of hard grains compressed together, and if it is laid on a hot plate, it does not melt as wax would do, but smokes, dries, and is reduced to a coal, and if kindled it burns without melting. Some late very curi ous experiments of Huber, one of the most celebrated apiarists in Europe, has further shown that the pollen has no share whatever in the formation of wax, but that this latter substance is produced indiscriminately from honey, sugar, or any other saccharine matter which serves as food for the bees.