Cooley's Cyclopaedia of Practical Receipts Volume I Part 123

=CAMPHOR'IC ACID.= H_{2}C_{10}H_{14}O_{4}. _Syn._ ACIDUM CAMPHOR'Ic.u.m, L.

_Prep._ From camphor, 1 part; and nitric acid (sp. gr. 133), 4 parts; distilled together in a gla.s.s retort, with a gradually increasing heat, until vapours cease to be evolved; the camphor that has volatilised is then added to that in the retort, along with 4 or 5 parts more of nitric acid, and the process repeated again and again, until 20 parts of acid have been consumed, when crude camphoric acid crystallises out of the remaining liquor on cooling. The crystals are purified by was.h.i.+ng with cold distilled water, solution in boiling water, and evaporating the solution until a pellicle forms; crystals of pure camphoric acid are formed as the liquid cools.

_Prop., &c._ Small, colourless, lamellar or acicular crystals; acid; bitter; fusible at 158 Fahr.; sparingly soluble in water; soluble in alcohol; alcoholic solution not precipitated by water, which distinguishes camphoric acid from benzoic acid. Its salts are called CAMPHORATES. The soluble camphorates may be made by digesting the carbonate or hydrate of the metal in a hot solution of the acid, and the insoluble camphorates by double decomposition. By distillation, camphoric acid yields a colourless, crystalline, neutral substance, which has been improperly called anhydrous camphoric acid.

=CAM'WOOD.= This dye-stuff resembles Brazil wood in its properties, and is used in a similar manner.

=CAN'ADA BALSAM.= _Syn._ BAL'SAMUM CANADEN'SE, TEREBINTH'INA CANADEN'SIS, L. A thick, viscid oleo-resin obtained from the _Abies balsamea_ (Lindley), a tree of common growth in Canada and the State of Maine. It is much employed as a medium for mounting microscopic objects. When pure it is perfectly transparent, has an agreeable odour (not terebinthinate), and is wholly soluble in rectified oil of turpentine, with which it forms a beautiful gla.s.sy and colourless varnish, much used for preparing a semi-transparent copying paper.

A mixture of 3 parts of Canada balsam and one of wax, if added to pile ma.s.ses, is said to have the effect of binding together the component parts of the ma.s.s, and of keeping the piles made from it soft and in good shape.

=Canada Balsam, Facti"tious.= _Syn._ BALSAMUM CANADENSE FACTI"TIUM, L.

_Prep._ 1. Yellow resin, 3 lbs.; oil of turpentine, 1 gall.; dissolve, and add essence of lemon, 2 dr.; oil of rosemary, 1-1/4 dr.

2. To the last add of nut oil, 1 pint. Both are sold in the shops for Canada balsam.

=CAN'DIES.= See CANDYING.

=CAN'DLES.= Candle-making, once a rude and noisome trade, has, since the researches of Chevreul and Branconnot into the nature of the fats, developed into one of the most important branches of scientific industry, the progressive improvements in which, accompanied by a corresponding cheapening and immensely increased efficiency in one of our chief means of artificial illumination, have added greatly to the comfort and enjoyment of every civilised community. Candles are either dipped, moulded, or rolled. The cheaper sorts of tallow candles are formed by the first process, and wax candles by the last; all the other kinds are moulded. The moulds are tubes of pewter, well polished on the inside, eight or more being fitted into a frame, the upper part of which forms a trough to receive the melted candle material. When in the moulds the candles are inverted; in other words, the bottom of each mould corresponds to the top of the candle. The wick pa.s.ses through a small hole at the lower extremity of the tube, and is held in the axis by a little bar placed across the top. At the factories of Price's Patent Candle Company the frames of moulds are ranged close together in long benches, and are filled with hot candle material from cars running along little railways above them. When quite cold the candles are withdrawn. The plan of pulling them out one by one with the aid of a bodkin has been superseded at the factories above mentioned, by the ingenious device of blowing them out with compressed air.

The wicks of ordinary tallow candles are made of the rovings of Turkey skein-cotton, 4 or more of which, according to the intended thickness of the wick, are wound on a reel, from which they are again run off, and cut into the proper lengths. Of late years the wicks of the best candles have been made in such a way that they do not require snuffing. This object is effected by causing the wick to bend over, and its end to fall outside the flame, where it is exposed to the oxygen of the air. This bending over is variously brought about.--1. By twisting the wick with one strand shorter than the rest, which, being slightly stretched during the moulding of the candle, contracts again and bends the wick when the fat melts. 2. By plaiting the cotton into a flat wick, which naturally takes the required curve. Such a wick is generally dipped in a solution of borax, which preserves it from being acted upon by the flame except at its extreme point at the edge of the flame. A very fine wire is sometimes included in the plaited wick. 3. In Palmer's patent two-wicked candles, which were formerly much used in lamps, the wicks are saturated with subnitrate of bis.m.u.th ground up with oil; they are then twisted tightly round a wire, which is withdrawn after the candle is moulded. In burning, the ends gradually untwist and stand out of the flame on either side. Other devices are said to be employed.

The wicks of candles should be free from knots and inequalities, as well as from adhering particles of cotton, the presence of all of which are the cause of the "guttering" one frequently sees in a burning candle. The finer the thread of which the wick is composed the more complete will be the combustion of the melted fatty material. Unless the above precautions are attended to, in selecting the wick, it will not be so entirely consumed as it ought to be.

=Candles, Com'posite.= Mould candles formed of a mixture of the hard fatty acid obtained from palm oil and the stearine of cocoa-nut oil. They were introduced in 1840. Other compositions are occasionally used, such as a mixture of spermaceti and hard white tallow, to which a little bleached resin is added.

=Candles, Med'icated.= These have been proposed as a convenient means of diffusing the active principles of certain volatile substances through the atmosphere, and for complete and partial fumigations. They are seldom employed in England.

=Candles, Mercu"rial.= From the red sulphide or the grey oxide of mercury mixed with wax, and a wick of cotton inserted therein. Recommended by Mr Colles for partial mercurial fumigation. They are burnt under a gla.s.s funnel with a curved neck, the upper orifice of which is directed to the diseased part.

=Candles, Par'affin.= From the beautiful translucent substance paraffin (which _see_). These candles surpa.s.s all others in elegance, and are entirely free from odour and greasiness. The light produced by 98 lbs. of paraffin candles is equal to that of 120 lbs. of spermaceti, or 138 lbs.

of wax, or 144 lbs. of stearic, or 155 lbs. of the best composite candles (Letheby). They are sometimes delicately tinted with red, mauve, violet, crimson, and rose colour. Aniline colours will not dissolve in paraffin.

Stearic acid, however, is a solvent for them, and accordingly when the candles are tinted with the coal-tar colours these are previously dissolved in the stearic acid, always mixed with the paraffin. This insolubility of the aniline colours in paraffin has been suggested as a test for the purity of this hydrocarbon, and of its freedom from stearic or other fatty acids. For colouring paraffin candles black the paraffin is heated nearly to the boiling point with anacardium sh.e.l.ls or nuts, which dissolve readily in the heated paraffin. The Belmontine Candles of Price's Patent Candle Company are formed of the paraffin of Rangoon tar.

Previous to the paraffin being made into candles, it is necessary that it should be purified and bleached. Many processes for effecting these ends have been devised. In the works of Price's Candle Company the method known as "Hodge's" is had recourse to. This consists in first freeing the crude paraffin from the coa.r.s.er impurities, melting it, casting it into cakes, and allowing it to cool sufficiently slowly, so as to form well-defined crystals. The cakes are then placed upon a bed of some porous and absorbent material, and subjected to a temperature not sufficient to melt the paraffin, but only the liquid hydrocarbons and other more easily fused bodies, the latter running off from between the crystals of the paraffin, and being absorbed by the porous substance upon which the paraffin rests.

This process is repeated until the removal of the liquid hydrocarbons from the solid paraffin has been satisfactorily accomplished. If it be requisite to subject the paraffin to further purification, the following method is frequently adopted. The paraffin, previously melted by steam, is placed in a tank, with from 5 to 10 per cent. of strong sulphuric acid, and the mixture agitated for some hours by means of air (the time depending on the quality of the paraffin), the sulphurous acid fumes resulting from the reaction being carried off by a suitable contrivance.

After the agitation is completed, the paraffin, after being allowed to stand for some time, is decanted into a suitable vessel containing animal charcoal, with which it is digested for some hours. Upon the subsidence of the charcoal the paraffin is drawn off if at all turbid, and is pa.s.sed through a funnel heated by means of a steam jacket.

Another method, the invention of Messrs Fordred, Lambe, & Sterry, for the decolorisation of the paraffin employed in candle manufacture, consists in digesting the paraffin at a temperature of 230 F. with about 12% of powdered fuller's earth. Of late this process has supplanted the charcoal one; and it may be employed, no matter by what means the previous purification of the paraffin has been carried out. The paraffin and fuller's earth are to be well agitated together, and when the latter has fallen down the clear paraffin is decanted from it. The inventors affirm that their process answers quite as well if marl clay, or any other similarly const.i.tuted and equally abundant natural substance be subst.i.tuted for fuller's earth; and that no matter which of these bodies is employed, they may be re-used, and any adhering paraffin be removed by was.h.i.+ng with agitation, or by other suitable contrivances.

Messrs Smith & Field's patent for the removal of the colouring matters of the paraffin consists in the employment of silicite of magnesium. The patentees state that the successful issue of the operation depends not only upon the careful preparation of the salt used, but upon its being dried at a temperature of as exactly as possible 212 F. The careful preparation before insisted on of the magnesium salt, which is procured by the double decomposition of magnesium, sulphate, and sodium silicate, includes its thorough was.h.i.+ng from adhering sodium sulphate previous to its desiccation. If this precaution be neglected, the porosity of the silicate will be impaired, and its bleaching effect more or less interfered with; and further, the patentees state that if the washed silicate be heated to redness, its decolourising power will also be lost.

It appears that the paraffin employed in making the candles consists of a mixture of paraffins having different melting points. The following are the melting points of some of the chief varieties of paraffin:--

Paraffin from Boghead coal at 45 to 52 C.

" " Brown coal " 56 C.

" " Peat " 467 C.

" " Rangoon oil or tar 61 C.

" " Ozokerit 655 C.

Paraffin candles contain from 5{?} to 15 per cent. of stearin, this addition being made for the purpose of diluting the paraffin as well as for raising the melting point of the paraffin where this is low. The stearin, moreover, serves to preserve the rigidity of the candle in the candlestick, and to prevent its bending out of the upright position.

Paraffin candles are always moulded, but previous to this being done the moulds must be heated to a temperature above the melting point of the paraffin; this may vary from 60, 70, and 87 C., according to the paraffin employed. The moulds having been filled with the melted paraffin are, after one or two moments only, plunged into cold water, when the candle immediately becomes solid. Unless this were done the candle would be spoilt, owing to the crystallisation of the paraffin. A thin wick is required for paraffin candles.

=Candles, Spermace'ti.= From spermaceti (which _see_). These are very delicate in appearance, but rather expensive. They burn well, but as the melting point of spermaceti is low, 120 Fahr., they will not bear carrying about in the hand without guttering. They are generally adulterated with stearic acid or hard white tallow.

In candle-making "spermaceti is usually mixed with 3 per cent. of wax or paraffin to destroy its highly crystalline structure; it is moulded in the usual way with plaited wicks that require no snuffing. Occasionally the spermaceti candles are cast without any admixture of wax, the moulds being raised to a higher temperature just as with stearic acid. Some manufacturers, in order to make the spermaceti appear like wax, use gamboge to give the desired tint; such candles are known as transparent wax."[236] Spermaceti candles are largely consumed in India.

[Footnote 236: 'Chemistry, Theoretical, Practical, and a.n.a.lytical.']

=Candles, Stear'ic.= Under this head we may place the various sorts of candles moulded from the hard fatty acids of both animal and vegetable origin. The princ.i.p.al sources whence British manufacturers derive their acids are tallow, palm oil, and cocoa-nut oil. The processes employed for separating them are generally described under Stearic Acid. Candles formed of the fatty acids can now be prepared so as to imitate and almost rival those of wax and spermaceti; and they are quite as cheap as the nearly obsolete mould candles formed of common tallow. They are extremely hard; they do not grease the hands, and they burn away brightly and steadily, without giving off any offensive odour. Uncoloured, they are snowy white, but a yellow tint is frequently given them by gamboge.

=Candles, Tal'low.= From ordinary tallow or from tallow which has been freed from much of its oleic acid by pressure. These have so unpleasant an odour and are so apt to gutter, that they will probably ultimately disappear from use. They are, however, sold at so low a price, that among the lower cla.s.ses they must long retain their hold. For dip candles the wicks are immersed in melted tallow, and after rubbing with the hands are placed straight and allowed to harden, after which they are arranged upon the "broaches" ready for dipping. For mould candles the last operation is omitted. Great care is taken to select a cotton that yields the least possible quant.i.ty of ash after burning.

In the process of "dipping," the "dipping cistern" being filled with tallow of a proper temperature from the boiler, one of the broaches covered with wicks is placed upon the end of the "dipping beam," and pressed down gently into the melted fat; it is then withdrawn, the bottoms of the candles just touched against a board placed on one side of the cistern for the purpose, and the frame removed to the rack. This operation is repeated until the candles acquire a sufficient size, when they are finally cooled, sorted, weighed, and strung in pounds for sale.

The mould candles once in common use were made of the finer kinds of tallow only; a mixture of 3 parts of sheep, with 1 part of ox suet, being preferred. See WAX.

=Candles, Wax.= These are most frequently made by pouring melted white wax on to the wicks, which are hung upon frames and covered with metal tags at the ends to protect the cotton from the wax in those parts. The frames are made to turn round, and melted white wax is poured first down one wick, and then the next, and so on. When the wicks have been subjected to this operation once and have become sufficiently cooled, they have a second, and then a third coat given them, until they are of the required thickness. The candles are next rolled into proper shape on a marble slab or wooden board. The conical top is moulded by properly-shaped tubes, and the bottoms are cut off and trimmed. Wax candles are now seldom moulded, but if so the same processes are followed as for stearic and paraffin candles. The large altar candles, which frequently weigh from thirty to forty pounds, are made by hand.

=Wax Tapers.= These, which are of various degrees of thickness, are not made of pure wax, but of wax (usually vegetable wax) and tallow, the latter being added to give them flexibility. When they are required to be coloured, resin and turpentine are added to the tallow. For further particulars, consult Wagner's 'Chemical Technology,' "CANDLE-MAKING."

=CANDLE NUTS.= The kernels of the _alearites triloba_, the candleberry tree, a plant growing in most tropical countries. The nuts when dried, and stuck upon a reed, are used by the natives of the Polynesian Islands as a subst.i.tute for candles. They contain a large amount of pure palatable oil, which is sometimes used by artists as a drying oil. After the expression of this oil the cake has been used as a food for cattle; also as a manure.

The following is the composition of the nuts:--

_Sh.e.l.ls._

Water 371 Organic matter 8990 Mineral matter 639

_Kernels._

Water 527 Fat 6297 Cellulose 2899 Mineral matter 279

_Ash of Kernel._

Lime 1869 Magnesia 601 Potash 1133 Phosphoric acid 2930

=CAN'DLESTICKS.= Metallic, earthenware, and porcelain candlesticks, snuffers, and snuffer-stands, are recommended to be cleaned by pouring boiling hot water on them (previously placed in an earthen pan), and, after wiping them quite dry with a cloth, to clean them with a piece of wash leather; those made of silver, or of plated copper, may be finally polished with a little plate powder; those of white metal, with a little whiting or fine chalk, and those of bra.s.s, with a little rotten-stone or one of the polis.h.i.+ng pastes. For articles of this kind, made of bronze and papier mache, the water should be used only hot enough to melt the tallow, and they should be only gently dabbed or rubbed off with a very soft cloth or leather. The common practice of placing candlesticks before the fire to melt off the grease is injudicious, as the solder or j.a.pan about them is almost certain to be injured. Hence the common annoyance of damaged or "crippled" candlesticks in houses where there are careless servants.

=CAN'DYING.= When the object is simply to form a confection or sweetmeat, imbued with the aroma, flavour, or medicinal property of any substance, candies are generally prepared by simply boiling lump sugar with a sufficient quant.i.ty of the infusion, decoction, tincture, expressed juice, or sometimes even the powder of the particular article, until a portion taken out and cooled becomes quite solid, when it is either poured out on a marble slab, or into tin, marble, or paper moulds, dusted with powdered lump sugar.

When the object is to preserve the form and character of the vegetable in the candy, the substance is boiled in water until soft, and then suspended in concentrated syrup (in the cold), until they become transparent; after which they are either dried in a current of warm air, or in a stove, at a heat not exceeding 120 Fahr. The syrup must be kept fully saturated with sugar by reboiling it once or twice during the process.

Another method occasionally employed by confectioners for almonds and the like is to put the substances into a syrup boiled until it forms a small thread between the opening fingers, and to stir the whole until it is nearly set. See SUGAR BOILING.

The following are the princ.i.p.al candied articles kept at the shops:--

=Candied Al'monds.= From blanched almonds, roasted and halved.

=Candied Angel'ica.= _Prep._ 1. From the root. Boil the fresh roots (after slicing them and removing the pith) in water, to deprive them of part of their bitterness and aroma; then drain them and put them into syrup boiled to a full candy height, and boiling hot; let them remain until nearly cold, when they may be taken out and carefully dried.