CANDLE, a small taper of tallow, wax, or spermaceti, the wick of which is commonly of several threads of cotton, spun and twisted together.

A tallow-candle, to be good, must be half sheep’s and half bullock’s tallow; for hog’s tallow makes the candle gutter, and always gives an offensive smell, with a thick black smoke. The wick ought to be pure, sufficiently dry, and properly twisted, otherwise the candle will emit an inconstant, vibratory flame, which is both prejudicial to the eyes and insufficient for the distinct illumination of objects.

There are two sorts of tallow-candles; the one dipped, and the other moulded. The former are the common candles; the latter are the invention of the Sieur le Brege at Paris.

As to the method of making candles in general, after the tallow has been weighed, and mixed in the due proportions, it is cut into very small pieces, that it may melt the sooner; for the tallow in lumps, as it comes from the butchers, would be in danger of burning or turning black if it were left too long over the fire. Being perfectly melted and skimmed, a certain quantity of water, proportionable to the quantity of tallow, is poured into it. This serves to precipitate to the bottom of the vessel the impurities of the tallow which may have escaped the skimmer. No water, however, must be thrown into the tallow designed for the three first dips, because the wick, being still quite dry, would imbibe the water, which makes the candles crackle in burning, and renders them bad in use. The tallow, thus melted, is poured into a tub, through a coarse sieve of horse hair, to purify it still more, and may be used after having stood three hours. It will continue fit for use twenty-four hours in summer and fifteen in winter. The wicks are made of spun cotton, which the tallow-chandlers buy in skains, and which they wind up into bottoms or clues; whence they are cut out, with an instrument contrived on purpose, into pieces of the length of the candle required; then put on the sticks or broaches, or else placed in the moulds, as the candles are intended to be either dipped or moulded.

Wax-candles are made of a cotton or flaxen wick, slightly twisted, and covered with white or yellow wax. Of these there are several kinds; some of a conical figure, used to illuminate churches, and in processions, funeral ceremonies, &c. (see Taper) ; others of a cylindrical form, used on ordinary occasions. The first are either made with a ladle or the hand. 1. To make wax-candles with the ladle: the wicks being prepared, a dozen of them are tied by the neck, at equal distances, round an iron circle, suspended over a large basin of copper tinned, and full of melted wax. A large ladle full of this wax is poured gently on the tops of the wicks one after another, and the operation is continued till the candle arrives at its destined size; with this precaution, that the three first ladles are poured on at the top of the wick, the fourth at the height of three fourths, the fifth at one half, and the sixth at one fourth, in order to give the candle its pyramidal form. Then the candles are taken down, kept warm, and rolled and smoothed upon a walnut-tree table, with a long square instrument of box, smooth at the bottom. 2. As to the manner of making wax-candles by the hand, candle-makers begin to soften the wax by working it several times in hot water contained in a narrow but deep caldron. A piece of the wax is then taken out, and disposed by little and little around the wick, which is hung on a hook in the wall, by the extremity opposite to the neck; so that they begin with the big end, diminishing still as they descend towards the neck. In other respects the method is nearly the same as in the former case. However, it must be observed that, in the former case, water is always used to [7:6:78]moisten the several instruments, to prevent the wax from sticking; and in the latter, oil of olives, or lard, is used for the hands, &c. The cylindrical wax-candlcs are either made as the former, with a ladle, or they are drawn. Waxcandles drawn are so called because they are actually drawn in the manner of wire, by means of two large rollers of wood, turned by a handle, which turning backwards and forwards several times, pass the wick through melted wax contained in a brass basin, and at the same time through the holes of an instrument like that used for drawing wire fastened at one side of the basin.

The Roman candles were at first little strings dipt in pitch, or surrounded with wax, though afterwards they were made of the papyrus, covered likewise with wax; and sometimes also of rushes, by stripping off the outer rind, and only retaining the pith. For religious offices wax-candles were used; for vulgar uses, those of tallow.

A few years ago Dr Ure of Glasgow made a set of experiments of the relative intensities of light and duration of different candles, the result of which is contained in the following table.
[table]

A Scotch mutchkin, or one eighth of a gallon, of good seal oil, weighs 6010 grains, or thirteen and one tenth ounces, avoirdupois, and lasts in a bright argand lamp eleven hours and forty-four minutes. The weight of oil it consumes per hour is equal to four times the weight of tallow in candles eight to the pound, and three and one seventh times the weight of tallow in candles six to the pound. But its light being equal to that of five of the latter candles, it appears from the above table, that two pounds weight of oil, value ninepence, in an argand, are equivalent in illuminating power to three pounds of tallow candles, which cost about two shillings. The larger the flame in the above candles, the greater the economy of light.

Candle. Sale or auction by inch of candle, is when a small piece of candle is lighted, and the byestanders are allowed to bid for the merchandise that is selling as long as it lasts; but the moment the candle is out the commodity is adjudged to the last bidder.

There is also an excommunication by inch of candle, when the sinner is allowed to come to repentance while a ćandle continues burning; but. after it is consumed, he remains excommunicated to all intents and purposes.

Candle is also a term of medicine, and is reckoned among the instruments of surgery. Thus the candela fu-malis, or the candela pro suffitu odorata, is a mass of an oblong form, consisting of odoriferous powders, mixed up with a third or more of the charcoal of willow or lime-tree, and reduced to a proper consistence with a mucilage of gum tragacanth, labdanum, or turpentine. It is intended to excite a grateful smell without any flame, to correct the air, to fortify the brain, and to excite the spirits.

Candle-2?otmZ»5, a name given to small glass bubbles, having a neck about an inch long, with a very slender bore, by means of which a small quantity of water is introduced into them, and the orifice afterwards closed up. This stalk being put through the wick of a burning candle, 1 the vicinity of the flame soon rarefies the water into steam, by the elasticity of which the glass is broken with a loud crack.

Medicated Candle is the same with Bougie. Push Candles, used in different parts of England, arc made of the pith of a sort of rushes, peeled or stripped of the skin, except on one side, and dipped in melted grease.