The St. Johns herald., 1896-04-18
MODERN CANDLES.
THEY ARE GREAT IMPROVEMENTS OVER THOSE OF FORTY YEARS AGO.


 Entirely Snuffed Out the Candle.
 Now that candles have again come into use as a means for lighting recep- tion rooms where gas is considered toe hot and electric lights too glaring, com parisons are being made with the can dies of today and those of the long ago. He is not very old man who still re. members the malodorous "tallow dip, '' 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 molds were very important and neces- sary 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 a 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 snuffing was indispensable, and though the fingers were the handiest of snuffers 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 l 6n hx volumes written and the world enlight- ened, even if the writers and teachers groped a great deal.
 The great performances of Garrick and Siddons were given behind foot lights of tallow candles, and the candle snuffer was one of the most important of supers in the theater of the olden time. "Without candle snuffer, says Gold smith of play he had seen, "the piece would lose half its embellishments. '
 In those days "early to bed and early to rise" was a 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 an 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 a dead person after being "laid out" is still practice.
 But if people think that candles are not much used nowadays they are mis- taken. There are still several candle manufactures 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 silver 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 being here, shun oil as they would a deadly poison.
 No branch of industry has undergone the change that candle making has in the last 30 years. Formerly it was mere ly mechanical operation. Anybody could make candles and almost every body did.
 Now it is scientific industry, bring ing to its aid the resources of chemistry. Formerly candle was greasy, noisome thing that one usually handled with dis gust; now it is artistic and refined and can be handled without the least offense. The wick is so prepared that the con- bustion is complete, and snuffers have long been banished. An ancient candle maker could only work with materials already provided by nature, so that he had to use fats, with all their impuri- ties.
 The modern candle maker by chem ical process removes impurities. which leaves him nothing but the hard and white fat for his candles Fat changed by this process is called stearine, and from this material are made the star and stearic wax candles. These are extreme ly hard and are sometimes called ada mantine, do not grease the hands and give a soft and pleasing light Sperma- ceti and wax candles are also made.
 The candle has ever remained the unit of light. Sometimes you hear of light, say gas, being of 20 candle power. The standard is a spermaceti candle burning at the rate of 120 grains of sperm per hour. There are candles, too, which are made of parafin, but no candles are used so extensively as the star or stea- rine.
 The great improvement ill the manu fracture of candles dates from the inves tigations of the French chemist, M. Chevreul. He discovered that the fat of tallow was separable from the oil, and the result of the process was two valuable products--stearine and glycer- in. Those who have used the candles of the past can scarcely realize that can dles can now be shipped to warm eli mates. In former days a merchant would as soon have thought of exporting skates or snowshoes to Havana as car go of tallow candles. They would have all melted into an indistinguishable mass going across the gulf of Mexico. But such candles as are made now can be used in the hottest climate in the world.