1823.] tlie Composition 0/ certain Muriates, 341 



Acid. Base. Water. 



According to Mr. Aikin 22-93 .... 62-47 .... 14-6 



Berzelius 23-35 .... 61-85 14-8 



'*The analysis, therefore, requires to be attentively repeated.'* 



Now I would submit, with great deference, that the analyses 

 which have been already performed are sufficient to clear up 

 the difficulty, which, it appears to me, depends merely upon the 

 mode of viewing the nature of the salt in question. 



The various metallic chlorides, and the different salts which 

 fesult from the union of muriatic acid with metaUic oxides, may 

 be regarded under several different theoretical points of view : 

 these I shall endeavour to illustrate by considering the barytic 

 chloride and muriate. According to Dr. Thomson's table of 

 equivalents, oxygen being represented by 8, water is 9, chlorine 

 36, muriatic acid 37, barium 70, and barytes 78; and if we admit 

 for a moment, the existence of what was formerly called diy 

 muriatic acid, its number will be 28. 



Chloride of barium is then composed of 



One atom of chlorine 36 



One atom of barium 70 



106 



Supposing, as appears to be the case with muriate of magne- 

 sia, that a solution of barytes in muriatic acid could be evapo- 

 rated to dryness without the formation of water occurring from 

 the decomposition of the acid and oxide, and the union of their 

 hydrogen and oxygen, we should then procure muriate of barytes 

 composed of 



One atom of muriatic acid 37 



One atom of barytes V8 



Tl5 



This compound would also result from the decomposition of 

 one atom of water by an atom of chloride of barium. 



Considering, according to the opinion formerly adopted by 

 most chemists, and still entertained by Berzelius, that muriatic 

 acid gas is a compound of dry muriatic acid and water, dry 

 muriate of barytes will consist of 



One atom of dry muriatic acid 28 



One atom of barytes 78 



T06 



This number, it will be observed, is that which has already 

 been noticed as representing the chloride. 



