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A rushlight is a type of candle
Candle

A candle is a source of light, and sometimes a source of heat, consisting of a solid block of fuel and an embedded candle wick.Today, most candles are made from paraffin....
 formed using the dried pith
Pith

Pith is a light substance that is found in vascular plants. It consists of soft, spongy parenchyma cells, and is located in the center of the Plant stem....
 of the rush plant
Juncaceae

The Juncaceae, the rush family, is a rather small monocotyledon flowering plant family. There are 8 genus and about 400 species. Many of these slow-growing plants superficially resemble Poaceae, though are herbs or Shrub, growing on infertile soils....
 as its wick. The green epidermis
Epidermis (botany)

The epidermis is a single-layered group of cells that covers plants leaf, flowers, roots and Plant stem. It forms a boundary between the plant and the external world....
 or rind is peeled off to reveal the inner pith, aside from a single strip left to provide support. It is then steeped in any household fat
Fat

Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. Chemistry, fats are generally ester of glycerol and fatty acids....
 or grease
Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid found in rock formations in the Earth consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights, plus other organic compounds....
 that is available although beeswax
Beeswax

Beeswax is a natural wax produced in the Beehive of honey bees of the genus Apis. Worker bees have eight wax-producing mirror glands on the inner sides of the sternites on abdominal segments 4 to 7....
 or good tallow
Tallow

Tallow is a rendering form of beef or mutton fat, processed from suet. It is solid at room temperature. Unlike suet, tallow can be stored for extended periods without the need for refrigeration to prevent decomposition, provided it is kept in an airtight container to prevent oxidation....
, especially mutton fat, improves the quality of the light.






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Rush Light Lighted
A rushlight is a type of candle
Candle

A candle is a source of light, and sometimes a source of heat, consisting of a solid block of fuel and an embedded candle wick.Today, most candles are made from paraffin....
 formed using the dried pith
Pith

Pith is a light substance that is found in vascular plants. It consists of soft, spongy parenchyma cells, and is located in the center of the Plant stem....
 of the rush plant
Juncaceae

The Juncaceae, the rush family, is a rather small monocotyledon flowering plant family. There are 8 genus and about 400 species. Many of these slow-growing plants superficially resemble Poaceae, though are herbs or Shrub, growing on infertile soils....
 as its wick. The green epidermis
Epidermis (botany)

The epidermis is a single-layered group of cells that covers plants leaf, flowers, roots and Plant stem. It forms a boundary between the plant and the external world....
 or rind is peeled off to reveal the inner pith, aside from a single strip left to provide support. It is then steeped in any household fat
Fat

Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. Chemistry, fats are generally ester of glycerol and fatty acids....
 or grease
Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid found in rock formations in the Earth consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights, plus other organic compounds....
 that is available although beeswax
Beeswax

Beeswax is a natural wax produced in the Beehive of honey bees of the genus Apis. Worker bees have eight wax-producing mirror glands on the inner sides of the sternites on abdominal segments 4 to 7....
 or good tallow
Tallow

Tallow is a rendering form of beef or mutton fat, processed from suet. It is solid at room temperature. Unlike suet, tallow can be stored for extended periods without the need for refrigeration to prevent decomposition, provided it is kept in an airtight container to prevent oxidation....
, especially mutton fat, improves the quality of the light. In particularly thrifty households two strips of epidermis are left, reducing the light output but extending the life of the rushlight. On more remote Atlantic islands such as St Kilda
St Kilda, Scotland

St Kilda is an isolated archipelago 64 kilometres west-northwest of North Uist in the North Atlantic Ocean. It contains the western-most islands of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland....
 the stomach oil
Stomach oil

Stomach oil is the light oil composed of neutral dietary lipids found in the fore-gut or proventriculus of birds in the order Procellariiformes....
 produced by Fulmar
Fulmar

The two Fulmars are closely related seabirds occupying the same niche in different oceans. The Northern Fulmar , or just Fulmar lives in the north Atlantic and north Pacific, whereas the Southern Fulmar is, as its name implies, a bird of the southern oceans....
s was used as the source of oil.

Before paraffin wax candles started to become readily available, true wax candles made from beeswax were expensive and the preserve of the rich. A rushlight provided very economical lighting for the less well-off. A rushlight 2/3 of a metre
Metre

The metre or meter is a Unit of measurement of length. It is the SI base unit of length in the metric system and in the International System of Units , used around the world for general and scientific purposes....
 long (a metre is about 3 feet) might burn for an hour and cost practically nothing to make.

See also

  • List of light sources
    List of light sources

    This is a list of sources of light, including both natural and artificial sources, and both processes and devices....