of Olof Torlern Bergman, t^f 



He (bowed alfo how to imitate them by art, and prepared 

 different kinds, which had a perfe6l refemblance to thofe of 

 Seltz, Spa, Pyrmont, and other places. By a carefid ana- 

 lyli? of the hot waters be was led to an equally fuccefsful 

 method of imitating them alfo. In a word, we are indebted 

 to him aicne for the great improvement which has been made 

 in the analyiis of mineral waters, and the art of afcertaining 

 their real component parts. He was the firft who gave a 

 proper account of the properties of the newly difcovered acid 

 of fugar, and its mode of union with other bodies. He not 

 only explained, in the cleared manner, the nature of cobalt, 

 nickel, and pjatina; but declared, many years before the dif- 

 covery was acknowledged, that manganefe, molybdena, and 

 tungften, muft contain peculiar femi-metals; and this con- 

 jecture was afterwards fully confirmed by the experiments of 

 the ableft chemifts. He was the firft alfo who gave a proper 

 account of the properties of manganefe and of its regulus. 

 He difcovered the caufe of the phofphoric quality of blende 

 in the fparry fluor with which it is mixed. He was the firft 

 who difcovered fulphurated tin. His examination of iron is 

 a maflerpiece, and to him we are indebted for our know» 

 ledge of the caufe of the brittlenefs of cold fhort and 

 red fhort iron. He taught a moft excellent procefs for 

 analyfing ores with the blow-pipe by the addition of 

 different faline fubflances, and an ingenious method of 

 analyfing ores in the wet way. The difcovery of this laft 

 method, before unknown, gave rife to a great many others, 

 and in all probability will produce more. Such are the im- 

 portant difcoveries which he made in regard to the nature 

 and properties of bodies ; he was fully fenfible that 30,000 

 experiments would be neceffary to bring them to perfeClion^ 

 and he clearly faw that more time would be required for this 

 purpofe than he could hope to command, even if his life 

 iliould be prolonged to a more diflant period than he had 

 reafon to expe<Sl ; but he opened the path and pointed out 

 the way v^^-hich his followers ought to purfue. 



The caufcs which enabled this eminent man to make fuch 

 progrefs in chemiftry were, befidcs great ingenuity and in- 

 defatigable application, his exlenfivc knowledge in natural 



hidor)'. 



