Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1897-10-08
CHINESE INSECT WHITE WAX.
One of the Remarkable Industries OF
the Dig M0ngOlian Empire.

the Dig MongOlian Empire.
Although the province Of Szechuen
has always been recognized as the chief
breeding country of the white wax in
sect and manufacture of the white wax
of commerce, the wax Is found and
manufactured in several other prov
inces of China. One of the tributaries
of the Upper Yangtse, or Golden river,
as it is called in China, is the Yasl,ng'
Just before this unitesw with the Yangtse
it is joined by the Auning, flowing
down mountain valley known as the
Chien-Ch'ang. Here the valley and the
hills are covered by prominent tree,
probably the large-leaved privet, an
evergreen which is covered in March
and April with large excresences or
scales, which upon being broken open
are found filled with minute brown in
sects. Curiously, although this is the
home of the producing insect the
wax is not produced here. Insects may
be propagated elsewhere, but they are
of an inferior quality.
Two hundred miles to the northeast
Of Chien-Ch'ang, and separated from it
by series of mammoth ranges, is the
prefecture of Chatting, within which
insect white wax as an article of CON-
merce is produced. At the end of
April the scales are gathered from the
trees in the Chien-Ch'ang valley, and
collected for the most part at the town
Of TIE Chang, on the right bank of the
Auning river.
To this town porters fror Chatting
annually resort in great numbers-in
former years they are said to have
numbered as many as 1O,O00-to carry
the scales across the mountains to CHA.
ting. The scales are made up into pa.
per packets, each weighing about 16
ounces, and load usually consists Of
about 60 packets. Great care has to
he taken In the transit of the scales.
The porters between the Chien-Ch' 'ang
valley and Chatting travel only dur
ing the night, for at the season of tran.
sit the temperature is always high dur
ing the day, and would tend to the
rapid development of the insects and
their escape from the scales. At their
resting places the porters open and
spread out the packets in cool places.
Notwithstanding all these precautions,
however, each packet, on arrival at
Chatting, is found to be more than
N 1rrbf ha, x,,bo 10 et ~ Il
from Chien-Ch'ang. In years of plenty
pound of scales laid down in CHA
ting costs about half crown; but in
year of scarcity, such as last year,
when only 1000 loads are said to have
reached Chia-ting from Chicn-Ch'ang,
the price is doubled. In favorable
years n pound of Chien-Ch'ang scales
is calculated to produce from four TO
five pounds of wax; in bad years a lit.
tie more than pound may be expected
so that, taken as whole, white wax
culture has In II Q considerable element
of risk.
On plain which stretches westward
from the city Of Chatting is thick
growth of species of dwarf ash known
as the white wax tree" When the in
sect scales are received they are made
up in packets, wrapped in leaves, and in
this form suspended close under the
branches of the wax tree. On cmerg.
ing from the scales they crawl upon the
leaves, where they remain for 10 days,
after which they descend to the
branches and twigs to secrete wax
The insects make no mark on the leaves
during the 10 days, which leads the
Chinese to declare that they feed on
dew for this period. The wax first ap.
pears as white coating on the under.
side of the boughs and twigs, and resem.
bles very much sulphate of guinir~ or
n covering of snow. It gradually
spreads over the whole branch, and at
tains after three months thickness OF
about one-fourth of an inch.
When the white deposit becomes Wis.
ible on the branches the farmer may be
seen going the round of his trees, care.
fully belaboring each stump with
heavy wooden club,in order,a he says, to
bring to the ground the lakou, or "wax
dog" declared enemy of the wax in
sect; this probably refers to the beetle
mother. This clubbing of the stumps
is done during the heat of the day,
when the wax insects are said to have
firm hold of the bark. After the lapse
OF 100 days from the placng
of the insects on the wax tree the de.
post Is complete. The branches are
Topped off and as much of the wax o.
possible removed by hand. This is
placed in an iron pot of boiling water,
and the wax, melting, rises to the sur
face, is SKINNED off and placed in a
round mold, whence it energies the
white wax of commerce. Where it is
found impossible to remove the wax
by hand, twigs and branches are
thrown into the pot, so that the wax is
darker and inferior. As the branches
OF the wax tree are boiled with the wax
the scales are destroyed, and hence It
is. necessary to have recourse annually
to the Chien-Ch'ang valley for fresh
scales with eggs or insects.
Since the introduction Of kero-
sene oil into China, and it's almost uni
versal use in the remotest provinces Of
the empire, the demand for white wax
has declined considerably, and the sup
ply has decreased in corresponding
ratio. According to Consul Smithers,
Of Chung King, however, the quantity
Of insect white wax imported into
Shanghai in foreign vessels from
Yangtse ports in 1884 was asa tons,
valued at about $1,000 ton. In west
ern China it is used for Goa Dig tallow
candles to give them consistency, as II
melts only at 100 degrees f., whereas
animal tallow melts at 05 degrees F.
1t is also used as a sizing for cotton
goods, paper, carved ornaments and
the coating Of pills. - Boston Tran,
script.
"A seeding plant of the Victoria regia
water lily has leaves no lartrer than n