Dr. Turner's Elements of Chemistry. 67 



cessarily, therefore, (according to Berzelius' canon, if the Doc-» 

 tor pleases,) requires 1.5 of acid to convert it into a salt; just 

 as the commonly constituted peroxides (containing two pro^ 

 portionals of oxygen) require two of acid. Dr. Thomson, 

 with all his nomenclatural pretensions, has fallen into the same 

 error. 



The part of our author's work which treats of the che- 

 mistry of organic bodies is, upon the whole, an unexception- 

 able and accurate epitome of that complicated branch of the 

 science. It has its inaccuracies, but they apparently arise out 

 of the difficulty of condensing into the space of a few pages, 

 matter which, as we have elsewhere remarked, would require 

 an ample volume for its extended and perspicuous details. 



In our hasty account of this work, we have rather dwelt 

 upon its defects than its merits, in the hope of seeing another 

 and more extended edition, free from what we consider as 

 serious obstacles to the success and usefulness of the present 

 production. We hope that Dr. Turner will not feel offended 

 at the freedom with which our remarks are offered. We are 

 anxious that a writer of such good information should be in- 

 duced to think for himself; at least, that he should accurately 

 weigh the pretensions, and inquire into the originality of those 

 views and researches upon which he bestows such unquali- 

 fied and, in our opinion, undeserved praise, and to which he 

 assents with a facility unbecoming one who evidently possesses 

 the means of testing their merits. 



Experiments on Audition. 



[Communicated by Mr. C. Wheatstone.] 



The recent valuable experiments of Savart* and of Dr, Wollas- 

 ton have added to our stock of information several important 

 and hitherto unnoticed phenomena relating to audition; bu^ 

 notwithstanding the investigations of these distinguished experi- 

 mentalists, and though the physiology of the ear has beeh'^an 

 object of unceasing attention for many centuries, yet we are far 

 from possessing a perfect knowledge of the functions of the 

 various parts of this organ. The description of new facts illus- 

 trative of this subject cannot, thereforie, be devoid of interest; 



* Recherches sur les usages de la membrane du tympan et de I'oreiUe 

 exteme^ par M. Felix Savart. AnncUes de Chimie, torn. xxvi. p. 1. 



F 2 



