WA-WEI, a. vegetable poison, used by natives of the Somali coast and others in the interior of Africa for poisoning their arrows. It is an iuspis sated decoction of the root of a tree which is supposed to be one of the Loganiscem or Apo cynacem. It is used both in hunting and in war, and is said not to be poisonous if swallowed.— Madras Ilfuseum ; Captain Playfair.
WAX.
Shuma, . . . . ARAB. Cera, . . . . IT., SP. I-Cpa roung, . . BURM. Lelin, . . . . MALAY. Peli-lah (white), . CHIN. Wosh, Wosk, . . Rus. Hwang-lah (yellow), „ Siktha, . . . . SANSK.
Cire, FR. Miettie, . . . . SINGH.
Wachs, . . GER. Mellugu, . . . TAN. Mom, . . • HIND., PERS. Minum, . . . . TEL.
Wax is obtained from different sources, the chief of which is the beehive, where it is made by the bees for the formation of their cells. The • insects proceed in a similar manner, and with such celerity, that in a new hive a comb 20 inches . long by 7 or 8 inches broad will be constructed in 24 hours, and in 5 or 6 days the hive will be half filled. The wax thus produced is more or less yellow in colour, and has an odour resembling that of honey. The beautiful geometrical form in which it is arranged in the honeycomb is well known. The amount of wax produced in England is very large, but a. considerable quantity is likewise imported from abroad. When the wax has served its purpose in the domestic economy of the hive, it is collected for manufacturing purposes by first allowing the honey to drain off or to be pressed out, and then, by repeated boilings and strainings, obtain the product. For obtaining a marketable wax from the combs by a single operation, without either straining or pressing, in an earthen vessel, much narrower at bottom than at top, is placed water and aquafortis, in the proportion of one ounce of the latter to every quart of the former. 1Vhen these are well blended, as many good wax combs are put in as will reach, when melted, to within a finger's length of the top of the pan. The pan is then set on a clear fire, and stirred while the wax is melting, and until it has boiled long enough to liquefy the whole completely. It is then removed from the fire, and allowed to cool gradually. The wax then forms into a cake at the top, and the impurities are underueath. These arrange themselves in two layers, the lowest of which consists almost entirely of dross, but the next contains a certain amount of wax.
When the cake of wax is turned out of the pan, both these drossy layers are removed, leaving the cake pure ; but the upper drossy layer is boiled over again with more combs, and. with any scrap ings which it may have been necessary to make from the upper surface of the wax in order to leave it quite free from extraneous matters. Old combs that have wax in them, or other descriptions of refuse that have been pressed, but yet retain a considerable portion of wax, are pressed down in a close tub or vessel in a house for five weeks. This causes the impurities to ferment and rot, without affecting the wax, which may then be treated as above described, and will yield a fine yellow wax, little inferior to that of the best combs. Where very great purity is required, the best empty virgin combs are put into the same kind of vessel employed in the precedihg process, but with only a quarter of a pint of water, to keep the wax from burning. The pan is then set over a clear fire, and stirred until it boils. At this tune a clear yellow froth begins to rise up, which froth is to be skimmed off into a pan placed close at hand. The fire must be so managed that this froth shall continue to rise without boiling over, and a succession of skimmings are thus obtained, which form a very pure description of wax. When no more froth will rise, the ,residue is turned out into a vessel of cold water, and can be boiled up again with other combs. This method is only available with a fine comb. By the above processes, beeswax is freed from impurities, but is not deprived of its natural yellow colour. For the greater number of uses to which the substance is appropriated, it is, however, necessary that the wax should be rendered perfectly white. This is effected by exposing it in thin ribands on a bleaching ground, where it is subjected to the action of light, air, and moisture, and loses both colour and odour. In India, wax is obtained from the west coast of Africa, Barbary, Malabar, Zanzibar ; and in small quantities from the West Indies, United States, Germany, France, etc.— I-Vaterston ; Faulkner ; .11•PC. ; Tomlinson ; Smith, Chinese M. ; Pook, Statistics of Comn2erce; Bagster OH the Management of Bees.