Comment of the Day: I thought it was 20 pounds of berries for one pound of wax? But I could be wrong...: Nils: The Lighting Budget of Thomas Jefferson: "Those 'myrtle' candles Jefferson was asking for would be bayberry candles, made from waxy Myrica Cerifera berries. I haven't the slightest idea of how many pounds of berries (boiled, strained, reboiled) went into a pound of wax but it would be a lot. Hence his resignation to accepting some adulteration with tallow...
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