Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1896-02-12
MODERN CANDLES.
THEY ARE GREAT IMPROVEMENTS OVER THOSE OF FORTY YEARS AGO.

bie Service to Mankind-It Is a Mistake to Think That Gas and Electricity Have Entirely snuffed Out the Candle.
 Now that candles have again come into use as means for lighting recep- ton rooms where gas is considered too hot and electric lights too glaring, con- parisons are being made with the can dles of today and those of the long ago. He is not very old man who still re- members the malodorous "tallow dip J six to the pound, that he bought at the grocery or perhaps may have helped to make in a domestic way on Saturdays when at home from school.
 It is but a few years since candle melds were very important and neces- safJ part of every household, and yet so completely are they now banished to the limbo of forgotten and useless things that there must be thousands of young people to whom pair of snuffers and candle mold would prove un- doubted curiosities. They were not very pleasant to the nostrils, those old fash toned tallow candles, their Illuminating power was not good, and their need of constant snufting was indispensable, and though the fingers were the handiest of anuffers one was very apt to get badly smudged in the course of an evening.
 Yet the world stumbled along with no better light than that for IS cen turies and accomplished considerable things on the way. Great scholars were made by saved up candle ends, great volumes written and the world enlieht- ened, even if the writers and teachers sloped a great deal.
 The great performances of Garrick and Siddons were given behind foot lights of tallow candles, and the candle snutfer was one of the most important of snpers in the theater of the olden time. "Without candle snuffer, says Gold smith of a play he had seen, the piece would lose half its embellishments. :"
 h those days "early to bed and early to rise Waa q maxim that had much more significance, for it was necessary to get more out of daylight than in this era of gas and electricity. Candles have always occupied all important place in public worship. In the old times Christ mas was called the Feast of Lights, be- cause many candles were used at the feast, while the custom of setting can de at the head of dead person after being slaid out" is still practice
 But if people think that candles are not much used nowadays they are mis- taken. There arc still several candle manufactories in New York. A very large export business is done here, chief ly to the West Indies and Central Amer ica. In the United States sales are prin- cipally in the western states. The min- ing region takes large quantities, for no light but candles is used in gold and ANer mining.
 Candles are also used for church pur- poses, at country hotels, and to some ex- tent in families. Many of the people of the east side, newly come to the coun- try, use candles in preference to oil, be- ing accustomed to candles and afraid of the oil. Although it is not great while before they are won over to the use of oil, there are always thousands of others who, for the first few months of their
 
 deadly poison.
 No branch of industry has undergone the change that candle making has i'll the last 30 years. Formerly it was mere ly mechanical operation Anybody could make candles and almost every body did
 Now 1t is a scientific industry. bring \ ing to its aid the resources of chemistry. I Formerly a candle was greasy, noisome l thing that one usually handled with dis T gust; now it is artistic and refined and can be handled without the least offense. 7 The wick is so prepared that the com bustion is complete, and snutfers have long been banished. An ancient candle 8 maker could only work with materials already provided by nature, so that he 3 Pad to use fats, with all their impuri N ties
 8 The modern candle maker by chem 8 lc9A process removes impurities. which q leaves him nothing but the hard and 3 white fat for his candles. Fat changed # by this process is called stearine, and rom this material are made the star and M Steario wax candles. These are extreme 
 q y hard and are sometimes called ada 3 mantine, do not grease the hands and 1 give soft and pleasing light. Sperma- cetl and wax candles are also made.
 The candle has ever remained the unit f light. Sometimes you hear of light, ay gas. being of 25 candle power. The # aandard is spermaceti candle burning at the rate of 120 grains of sperm per aour. There are candles, too, which are # made of paraffin, but no candles are ased so extensively as the star or stea fine
 The great improvement in the manu- aeture of candles dates from the inves-
 3ations of the French chemist, M.
 Kfedl. He discovered that the fat
 llow was separable from the oil, the result of the process was two alufble products-stearine and glycer @' Those who have used the candles of ne past can scarcely realize that can slss can now be shipped to warm eli ua'es h former days a merchant | Il L