Having put the berries away for the night, try to forget them, and do not be tempted to disturb the wax as it forms and floats in little cakes on top of the water, for breaking through the gathering crust will cause much of the wax to sink and cling to the berries beneath. When left undisturbed until morning, the wax forms into a large cake, hard and ready to be lifted out.
The Bayberry Wax
is never, at first, free from impurities, such as bits of dried leaves, stems and occasionally whole berries, and it must be strained. Break up the wax and put it in a porcelain-lined, shallow saucepan and set it on the range where it will melt slowly; then strain through a fine wire strainer into a shallow bowl or soup-plate. Let the wax become quite cold and hard, melt and strain again, this time through a piece of cheese-cloth or fine sheer lawn. So much for the bayberry wax. But there must also be
Fig. 450.—Cut a strip of paper.
Fig. 451.—Bring the edge of the paper over the candle.
Candle-Moulds