The next expedient employed, was to make an artifi cial cup ; which, in fact, is nothing else than burning the tallow in a lamp. With this view, a hollow brass tube is attached to the top of a cylindrical piece of tallow, or a candle without a wick. The upper aperture of the tube is partly closed with a ring, in the centre of which is in serted a small metallic piece, nearly resembling that part of the common lamp which carries the wick, with which it is also provided. The tube rests upon the upper ex tremity of the candle, and is so nicely adapted to its size, that it slides gently down as the tallow consumes. The flame produced in this way is brighter, and more uniform ly intense, than that of a candle of the same size, and is, at the same time, free from all disagreeable smell ; but it was found, that the heat acquired by the metallic piece, during the combustion, fused more tallow than the wick could take up ; and, consequently, that part of the melted tallow flowed down between the candle and the brass tube, and, upon cooling, fastened them together in such a manner, that the gradual progression of the tube, and the necessary supply of tallow, was obstructed. An inven tion, upon a similar principle, was proposed, about twelve years ago, by Mr William Bolts of London, for which he obtained a patent. The great object of this invention, is to get rid of the trouble of constant snuffing, and to pre vent the running of the candles. To accomplish this, he employed a solid candle, or cylindrical piece of tallow, to the top of which he applied a small wick, by means of a projecting spring. The wick was kept in contact with the upper surface of the candle, either by making the wickstand pass round the candle like a collar, and slide down by the pressure of a spring, or, by making the wick immoveable, and putting a spring at the bottom of the candlestick, which presses the candle upwards as the tallow is consumed. Instead of a solid candle, he some times used one having a perforation longitudinally ; on the top of which he placed, for a wick, a small tuft of cot ton ; to the lower end of which was attached a thread, which passed down through the perforation to the bottom of the candle, and was wound round a key, or pivot. By turning this pivot, the wick is brought down as the can dle consumes. In this way, the wick being kept con stantly soaked in the melted tallow, consumes very slow ly, and, consequently, supersedes the necessity of snuff ing. The size of the wick may also, by this contrivance, be proportioned to that of the candle, and the fusibility of the material employed ; while, by the action of the spring, or pivot, the flame may be made to approach or recede, as circumstances require. This cordrivance, however, requires too much attention for common use, and is ob viously too complicated. The only other attempt at im proving the wick, which deserves notice, is that of the candlemakers of Munich, who use a thin slip of wood bound round with unspun cotton to the thickness of a small quill. These slips are made of pine, willow, and other kinds of but most commonly of fir. They are prepared by first scraping off the bark, and reducing them to the size of a small straw. They are then rubbed over with wax or tallow, and afterwards rolled on it smooth table, on very fine carded cotton. When they have acquired the proper size, they are introduced into the moulds, or hung on the dipping frame, as formerly described. These candles, we arc told, besides burning longer than the common ones, do not blaze, and are less prejudicial to the eyes of those who are accustomed to read or write at night. They must be snuffed with a pair
of sharp scissars, and great care must be taken not to break or derange the wick.
Various methods aim rifying the tallow, and rendering it more firm and compact, are described in the Diction aire de l'Induatrie, under the article Chandelle. In all these processes, alum seems to be the chief agent, to which is sometimes added nitre and sal ammoniac. In order to give tallow the appearance of wax, quicklime is used in purifying it, and sometimes vinegar. The tal low thus prepared, when mixed with an equal portion of wax, makes very beautiful candles. Several attempts have been made to deprive tallow of the bad smell, but none of them have completely succeeded. A decoction of rosemary, sage, laurel, and wild mint, has been used ; and the powder of charcoal has been suggested : the for mer, however, it is likely, only conceals the odour with out removing it, and, at any rate, could scarcely be em ployed on a great scale ; the effect of the latter, as far as we know, has not yet been ascertained. in the Archives des Decouvertes, published at Paris in 1810, M. Bonita tin announces a new method of purifying tallow, by which it is deprived of all colour and humidity, and may be kept for several years without becoming either yellow or rancid. The process is kept a secret ; but Vauque lin has examined the tallow, and his report is favourable. The candles made from it arc distinguished by the purity of their light, and the absence of smoke, but chiefly by their not running, and their requiring to be seldom snuffed.
‘Ve have already mentioned, that tallow, purified with quicklime, is sometimes mixed with wax, in order to improve the candles, or, rather, to diminish the price. In the Journal de Paris for 1787, is announced the disco very of a new species of wax candles, made of wax and the pulp of potatoes. The wax extracted from the fruit of the waxtree, when mixed with a portion of common wax, or, what is better, with tallow, makes excellent can dles, which diffuse an agreeable odour in burning. Can dles have also been made of the butter of the cocoa-nut, and of an oil extracted from the brain of the whale, which, after being exposed to the air, soon acquires a consider able degree of consistence. Candles made of tire latter material are covered with a slight varnish ; and those made from the cocoa burn with a clear steady flame, and last much longer than tallow candles.
We shall conclude our remarks with a short abstract of the excise laws respecting candles.
These laws relate chiefly to four points, viz. the li cense for making and selling candles ; the additional du ty levied by the weight ; the checks upon smuggling ; and the penalties to be exacted for neglecting or opposing the provisions of the act. Tice license to make wax can dles is 61.. and It. for tallow candles. The license to sell is 108. 6d., and both must be renewed annually ; but those who take tire license for making, are not obliged to take the license for selling also during the same year. The additional duty upon wax candles is nd. per lb. and that on tallow candles Id. The checks upon smuggling consist in allowing the excise-officers lo lock up and seal all furnaces, moulds, Etc. made use of in the manufacture of candle, and to open them only upon node( s from the manufacturer : these notices to be given in at the head office six hours, in a city or market-town twelve hours ; and elsewhere within twenty-fours before they are to he used. The penalties in general arc 201., 501., and IQ ; but never exceed the last sum. (s)