Sacred philosophy of the seasons : illustrating the perfections of God in the phenomena of the year ... Summer / [Henry Duncan].

  • Duncan, Henry, 1774-1846
Date:
1837
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Sacred philosophy of the seasons : illustrating the perfections of God in the phenomena of the year ... Summer / [Henry Duncan]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    the tree, as soon as they have reached tlieir full growth, and placed to dry in the shade, a considerable quantity of small light-coloured scales will be loosened from the surface. These acquire the appearance of Avax, when fused, which takes place on the application of heat at 206° Fahrenheit. This wax is of a pale straw colour, and, when cold, is hard and brittle. Fixed oils, at the temperature of boiling AATater, cause its solution. It pos- sesses most of the properties of bees’ wax, and, when made into candles, burns well Avith a steady light. In the Philosophical Transactions for 1811, there is a detailed account of the experiments made on this wax, to ascertain its properties as an inflammable substance. These experiments proved highly satisfactory. It was found, that, when made into candles, with wicks of pro- per thickness, its combustion Avas in no respect inferior to that of bees’ wax. Nor is this the only useful product of the carnauba- tree. The green fruit, and the pith of the young stem, when properly prepared, afford a nutritive food; the kernel of the fruit, when ripe, is covered Avith a layer of sweet pulp, which is found to be a Avholesome nourish- ment for cattle ; the beans make a very durable thatch for houses; and the trunk is serviceable as timber. Another species of the highly useful and much diver- sified palm tribe, the Ceroxylon, produces also a substance possessing the properties of aaux. It is a native of the Andes, and grows in high situations bordering on the re- gion of perpetual snow. Humboldt describes the tree as attaining to the prodigious height of 160 feet, Avhile it differs from all other species of palms, in flourishing under a much colder temperature. It is on the trunk of this tree that the inflammable substance is found, of Avhich I speak. Vauquelin subjected this product to chemical analysis, and found that it contained two-thirds of resin, and one-tliird of wax. There are, in the northern quarter of the New World, shrubs which produce Avax of a much purer quality.