WAX C 355 3 W AX
^i™lf,h:Sn berifoand *"** tilHt ha8,0 « alliK **.&*& -d each with h;
.- Jaws takes off a finall quantity of the Wax ; others fucceeding; till their laden Pel- low be quite disburden'd. See Honey-come.
- Wax makes a very confiderable Article in Commerce ) the Confumption thereof, throughout the feveral Parts of Europe, being incredible.— There are two Kinds, white, and yellow ; the yellow is the native Wax juft as it comes out of the Hive, after exprcffing the Honey, Bfo the white is the fame Wax, only purify'd, Wafll'd, and expos'd to .the Air. The Preparation of each follows.
Tellow Wax.
To procure the Wax from the Combs for ufe ; after le- parating the Honey from them, in the manner defctib'd under the Article Honey ; they put all the Matter remain- ing in a large Kettle, with a fufficient quantity of Water } where, ( with a moderate Fire, they melt it, and then ftrain it thro' a linen Cloth, by a Prefs : ere cold, they fcum it with a Tyle, or a piece of wet Wood, and call it, while yet warm, in wooden, earthen, or metalline Molds ; having firft anointed 'em with Honey, Oil, or Water, to prevent the Wax from flicking. — Some, to purify it, make ufe of Ro- man Vitriol, or Copperas ; but the true Secret is to melt, fcum it, (gc. properly, without any Ingredients at all.
The befl is that of a high Colour, an agreeable Smell, brittle, and that does not flick to the Teeth when chew'd. 'Tis often fophifticated with Rofin, or Pitch colour'd with Rocou, or Turmeric.
By Chymiftry, Wax yields a white thick Oil, refembling
Butter ; whence the Chymifts call it Sutter of Wax.
From this Oil is drawn a fecond, as clear as Water : Both the one and the other are excellent for Chilblains.— The Fa- ces remaining in the Bag after expreffing the Wax, is ufed both by Farriers and Surgeons, with fuccefs againft Strains.
White Wax. The whitening or blanching of Wax, is perform'd by re* ducing the yellow fort, firft, into little bits or grains, by melting it, and throwing it, while hot, into cold Water ; or elfe by fpreading it into very thin Leaves, or Skins. This Wax, thus granulated, or flatted, is expoled to the Air on linen Cloths ; where it refls Night and Day, having equally need of Sun and Dew. Then they melt and granulate it over again feveral times ; ftill laying it out to the Air in' the In- tervals between the Meltings.
When the Sun and Dew have at length perfectly blanch 'd it, they melt it for the laft time in a latge Kettle ; out of they go thro their Breadths are in that Ratio, the fame which they call it with a Ladle, upon a Table cover'd over Ratio is requir d in their Celerities, that the Produfls of the with little round Dents or Cavities, of the form of the Cakes Times by their Celerities may be as the Breadth of the of white Wax fold by the Apothecaries, He having firft Waves, which are the Spaces gone thro'. wetthofe Molds with cold Water, that the Wax maybe the
WAVED, or Wavy, a Term in Heraldry, when a Bor- eafier got out. Laftly, they lay out thefe Cakes to the Air dutc, or any Ordinary or Charge in a Coat of Arms, has its for two Days and two Nigh Out-lines indented, in manner of the riling and falling of and drier. Waves.
The Quantity of Matter to be moved, is the whole Li- quid in the Tube ; the moving Force, is the Weight of the Column IE, whofe weight is always double the Diftance Ei; which diftance, therefore, increafes and diminifhes in the fame Ratio with the moving Force.— But the Diflance E i is the Space to be run thro' by the Liquid, in order to its moving from the Pofition E H, to the Pofition of Reft ; which Space, therefore, is always as the Force continually afling upon the Liquid : But it is demonflrated, that it is on this account that all the Vibrations of a Pendulum ofcil- lating in a Cycloid, are Ifochronal ; and therefore, here alfo, whatever be the Inequality of the Agitations, the Liquid always goes and returns in the fame Time. The Time in which a Liquid thus agitated afcends or defcends, is the Time in which a Pendulum vibrates, whofe length is equal to half the Length of Liquid in the Tube, or to half the Sum of the Lines EF, F G, GH. This length is to be meafur'd in the Axis of the Tube. See Pendulum.
From thefe Principles, to determine the Celerity of the Waves, we mull confider feveral equal Waves following one another immediately ; as A, B, C, D, E, F, (Fig.33.) which move from A towards F : The Wave A has run its breadth, when the Cavity A is come to C ; which cannot be, unlefs the Water at (J afcend to the height of the Top of the Wave, and again defcends to the depth C ; in which Mo- tion, the Water is not agitated fenfibly below the Line h i : Therefore this Motion agrees with the Motion in the Tube abovemention'd, and the Water afcends and defcends, that is, the Wave goes thro' its Breadth, while a Pendulum of the Length of half BC performs two Ofcillations, or whilfta Pendulum of the Length BCD, that is, four times as long as the firft, performs one Vibration. Therefore, the Celerity of the Wave depends upon the Length of the Line BCD; which is greater, as the Breadth of the Wave is greater, and as the Water defcends deeper in the Motion of the Waves. — In the broadeft Waves, which do not rife high, fuch a Line as BCD, does not much differ from the Breadth of the Wave ; and in that Cafe, a Wave moves its breadth, while a Pendulum equal to that Wave ofcillates once. See Oscillation.
In every- equable Motion, the Space gone thro' increafes with the Time and the Celerity; wherefore, multiplying the Time by the Celerity, you have the Space gone thro' : whence it follows, that the Celerity of the Waves are as the fquare Roots of their Breadth : For as the Times in which
This is alfo called Undy. See Unuy.
?o Wave, is alfo ufed in the Sea Language, for the ma- king Signs for a Veffcl to come near, or keep off. See Signal.
WAVESON, in the Admiralty Law, a Term ufed for fuch Goods, as after Shipwreck do appear fwimming on the Waves. See Flotson, Jetson, &c.
WAX, Cera, a foft yellowifh Matter, whereof the Bees form Cells to receive their Honey. See Cell.
Wax is not the Excrement of this laborious Infect, as the Antients, and after them many of the Moderns, have ima- gin'd.
'Tis ptoperly a Juice, exuding out of the Leaves of Plants, and adhering to the Surface thereof; from which it is fcrap'd off by 'the Bees with their rough Thighs, to build their Combs withal. — It is chiefly afforded by Lavender and Rofe- mary ; from which laft, any body may gather Wax ; and, with the afliftance of the Microfcope, the Wax maybe plain- ly feen flicking on the Leaves of the Plant. — So that Wax is not an Animal, but a Vegetable Subflance.
Naturalifts have generally imagin'd the Wax to be ga- ther'd from the Flower, fome from the Petala, and others from the Apices ; but Soerhaave affirms it a Juice peculiar to the Leaves, and not afforded by the Flowers, which only yield Honey. See Honey.
The Honey is form'd of a liquid Matter fuck'd into the Body ; and only feems to arrive at its Perfection in the Entrails of the little Animal : Whereas the Wax, being a hard Subflance, is gather'd only with the fore Legs and Chaps ; convey'd thence to the middle Legs, and thence to the middle Joint of the hind Legs, where there is a fmall Cavity, like the bowl of a Spoon, to receive it ; and where it is collected into Heaps, of the Ihape and fize of Lentils.
The Bee arrived ar the Hive with its Load of Wax, finds fome difficulty in unbutdening himfelf of fo tenacious a Matter. — Frequently, being unable to lay it down himfelf, he calls for Afliftance, by a particular Motion of the Legs and Wings ; upon which, a number of his Companions fttait run
to render it more ttanfparent
This Wax is ufed in the making of Torches, Tapers, Flambeaux, Figures, and other Wax-works. See Taper, Torch, E5?c.
It is alfo an Ingredient in Plaiflers, Cerats, and divers Pomatums and Unguents for the Complexion. See Ce- R.AT, £Sfc.
Yellow Wax is made foft with Turpentine, yet retains its natural Colour.— Red Wax, is only the white melted with
Turpentine and redden'd with Vermilion or Orcanette. .
Verdegreafe makes it green; and burnt Paper or Lampblack,
black. Some Travallers tell us of a natutal black Wax ;
affuring us there are Bees, both in the Eall and Weft-ladies, that make an excellent Honey, included in black Cells. Of this Wax it is that the Indians make thofe little Vafes, wherein they gather their Balfam of Tbllt.
Virgin Wax, or 'Propolis, is a fort of reddilh Wax, ufed by the Bees to flop up the Clefts or Holes of the Hive: "Tis applied juft as taken out of the Hive, without any Art, or Preparation of boiling, E?c. — 'Tis the moll tenacious of any, and is held good for rhc Nerves. See Propolis.
Sealing Wax, or Spanijh Wax, is aCompofition of Gum Lacca, melted and prepar'd with Rofin and Chalk, and co- lour'd red with ground Cinnabar. See Lacca.
VJ&x-Candles. See Candle.
Wax-work. — Here we muft not fotget that pretty Inven- tion of M. Senoift, a Man famous at Paris for his Figures of Wax. — Being by Profeffion a Painter, he found the Secret of forming Molds on the Faces of living Perfons, even the faireft and moll delicate, without any danger either to Health or Complexion : In which Molds he call Maiks of Wax ; to which by his Colours, and glafs Eyes imitated from Nature, he gave a fort of Life : infomuch, as when cloth'd in proper Habits, they bote fuch a refemblance, that it was difficult diftinguifhing between the Copy and the Original.
Grafting Wax, is a Compofition ferving to bind or fix the Bud or Graft in the Cleft of the Stock. See Graft- ing.
Inftead
