CANDLES

ference of a hoop; when of a proper thickne , they are rolled smooth upon a table, and the ends are cut and trimmed. It is in consequence of this method of niaimfacture, that when we cut a wax candle we observe it composed of succe ive layers or coats. Attempts have been made to cast wax candles in moulds, but those which are thus made never burn so well as those which are poured. 2. Spermaceti candles, or mixtures of wax and spermaceti. This material forms a very good and cleanly candle; but in consequence of its ready fusibility and hardne when concrete, it does not admit of being carried about without spilling the melted material. The fused portions also, which run down the candle, are apt to curl up and fall upon the table. 3. Composition candles. This term was originally conferred by a manufacturer who had a large stock of spermaceti candles on hand which were of a dirty hue, and which therefore were unsaleable; he advertised them under the above name, and they were soon disposed of, under the notion of their being composed of some new combination of materials. The term has since been applied to various mixtures; but what are now sold under the name of composition candles are chiefly mixtures of spermaceti, tallow, and a little resin, and occasionally wax. 4. Tallow candles, which are either cast upon the wick in pewter moulds, or made by dipping the wicks, attached in rows to proper frames, into melted tallow. 6. Stearine candles. Under this term we may include cocoa-nut oil candles, and a few others made of the stearine, or what may be compared to the spermaceti of the vegetable oils. The stearine, or rather the stearic acid of tallow, is also now extensively employed for making candles. A candle may be considered as a portable gas apparatus, and its philosophical history involves a number of very curious points, which we can only superficially advert to nere. The combustible material, in a state of fusion, is drawn up in succe ive portions by capillary attraction into the heated part of the wick, the texture, materials, and dimensions of which are matters of much importance. If the wick be too large, the candle flares and smokes, producing a peculiar suffocating smell in the room, and often wanting snuffing, as we constantly see in badly made mould candles; if, on the contrary, the wick be too small, the candle burns dimly and gutters, in the former case, unburned carbon soon collects in the upper part of the flame, and if not removed is apt to fall hi to the cup of the candle, where it forms a kind of second wick, rapidly melting away the tallow and disfiguring the candle, and occasionally, where candles are inadvertently left burning, falling upon the table and setting fire to any thing within its reach. This evil may to a great extent be prevented by inclining the candle at an angle of about 4-5 degrees, so as to keep the upper part of the wick out of the flame. In this way the air has acce to it, and the charcoal which otherwise collects into a head is burned as soon as deposited. Where it is required to keep a common tallow candle burning during the night, the nece ity for snuffing, and the risk of mischief, may be prevented by so inclining it; and candlesticks have been contrived for" the purpose, which are useful and effective, but very unseemly. With good wax the wick is more easily adjusted to the wants of the flame, and the nece ity of snuffing to a great extent prevented; but adulterated wax is often more troublesome than tallow. Great care is also Requisite in selecting the cotton for the wicks of candles, which should be of such a nature as to leave no ash, or scarcely any, wMien burned. The wick is occasionally impregnated with different substances, and sometimes so platted as to curl out of the flame; but the details of these contrivances would be foreign to the object of this work. The following table contains the results of some experiments made by Dr. Ure, with a view of ascertaining the relative intensities of light and the duration of different candles: — © ^ Number in 0 a pound. il ii III m ■s 1* Iff Sh. 9 m. 682 132 12-25 68-0 5.70 10 Dipped 4 36 672 150 1300 65-5 5-M 8 Mould 6 31 856 132 10-50 59-5 6-60 6 Ditto 7 2i 1160 163 14-66 66-0 500 4 Ditto 9 36 1787 186 20-25 80-9 3-50 Aigan.l o I flame - 512 6940 100-0 In reference to the above table, it appears from Dr. Ure's experiments that one-eighth of a gallon of good oil, weigliing 6010 grains, or 13 and I-lOth ounces avoirdupois, lasts in a bright argand lamp 11 hours 44 minutes. The weight of oil it consumes per hour is equal to four times the weight of tallow in cimdles eight to the pound, and 3 and l-7th times the weight of CANIS. tallow In candles six to the pound; but, Its light being equal to that of five of the latter candles, it appears from the cbove table, that 2 lbs. weight of oil, value one shilling, in an argand lamp, are equivjilent in illuminating power to 3 lbs. of tallow candles, which cost about three shillhigs. The larger the flame in the above candles, the greater the economy of light. (Ure's Dictionary of Chemistry.') In reference to the comparative cost of coal gas, oil, tallow, and wax, it appears that the cost of a lamp fed by gas, and giving the light of seven candles, will be about one penny per hour; of an argand lamp fed with spermaceti oil, about threepence; of mould candles about threepence halfpenny; and of wax candles about one shilling. Ninety cubic feet of good coal gas, value about one shilling, will produce the light of about 10 wax candles for one hour. CANE'LLA. (Dim. of canna, a reed.) The bark of the Canella alba, imported from the West Indies in quilled pieces of a pale buff colour, and a biting aromatic flavour. It is occasionally used in medicine. CANE'LLEiE. (Canella, one of the genera.) A small natural order of plants, supposed to be related to CltisiacecB; but very imperfectly known. They consist of South American shrubs or trees; one of which, Canella alba, is aromatic, and yields the wild cinnamon of the West Indies. The bark of that species is used medicinally against scurvy. CANE'PHOR^. (Gr. ««m^«g«f, bearing a basket.) In Architecture, figures of young persons of either sex, bearing on their heads baskets containing materials for sacrifice. They are frequently confounded with caryatides, from their resemblance in respect of attitude and the modern abuse of their application. See Caryatides. CA'NES VENA'TICI. The-Grei/hounds. One of the constellations formed by Hevelius in the northern hemisphere. It is represented on the celestial globes and charts by the figures of two dogs, which are also distinguished by the names of Aster i on and Chara. CANI'CULAR DAYS, or DOG DAYS. The name given to certain days of the year, during which the heat is usually the greatest. They are reckoned about 40, and are set down in the almanacs as beginning on the 3rd day of July, and ending on the 11th of August. In the time of the ancient astronomers, the remarkable star Sirius, called also Canicula, or the Bog Star, rose heliacally, that is, just before the sun, about the beginning of July; and the sultry heat which usually prevails at that season, with all its disagreeable effiects, among which the tendency of dogs to become mad is not one of the least disagreeable, were ascribed to the malignant rage of the star. Owing to the prece ion of the equinoxes, the heliacal rising of Sirius now takes place later in the year, and in a cooler season; so that the dog days have not now that relation to the particular position of the Bog Star from which thev obtained their name. CANI'CULAR Y'EAR. The ancient solar year of the Egyptians; so called because its commencement was determined by the heliacal rising of the Dog Star. The Egyptians chose this star for their observations, either on account of its superior brightne , or because its heliacal rising corresponded with the annual overflow of the Nile. At a very early period of history the Egyptians had perceived that the solar year contains 365a days; for their common years consisted of 3C5 days, and every fourth year of 366L as in the Julian Calendar. CAN I'NES. (Lat. can is, a dog.) The pointed, often long teeth, which succeed the incisors j called denies can in i, or laniarii. CA'NIS. (Lat. can is, a dog.) The name of a genus of Digitigrade Mammal i a, restricted in the modern systems of Zoology to the species of dog, wolf, and jackal; but by Linna;us applied in a wider sense to include the fox and hyena. With respect to the latter animal its enormously developed anal scent-glands, its brief coition, and its mane indicate it to belong to the family of the skunks and genets rather than to that of the dogs, while the prickly tongue and dentition of the hyena approximate it to the cats. The foxes are generically distinguished from the dogs bv the pupils of the eye, which during the day have the form of a vertical fi ure, by their le notched upper incisors, and by their longer and more bushy tail. The true characters of the genus can is are six incisors and two canines in each jaw, six molars on each side of the upper jaw, and seven molars on each side of the lower jaw, making in all forty-two teeth, of which there are twenty in the upper and twenty-two in the lower jaw. The first three molars in the upper, and the first four molars in the under jaw, are trenchant and pointed or lacerating teeth; the succeeding molar in the upper jaw is very large, with two sharp cutting points towards the outer edge, and a small tubercle on the inner side interiorly; the others are smaller, and all furnished with tubercles: the first of these tuberculate molars in the upper jaw is very large. In all the wild varieties of the species of can is the muzzle is elongated, and the ears are carried erect; the tongue is unprovided with cuticular spines; the fore feet have five toes, the hind feet Page 203