162 Dr. T. Anderson on certain Products of Decomi^o&ition 



rine, bromine, nitric acid and ammonia; the three former of 

 which exert their action on the hydrogen, the latter on the 

 oxygen of the substance, and form compounds, the complete 

 investigation of which is important, not merely in a purely 

 chemical point of view, but also from the light which they 

 seem likely to throw on the general question of the atomistic 

 constitution of matter. In fact, the great object of the re- 

 searches of organic chemistry at the present moment is that 

 of developing the relations which the individual atoms bear 

 to the molecules of their compound, by a knowledge of which 

 we hope eventually to arrive at some definite conclusions with 

 regard to the mode in which the elementary atoms are grouped 

 together in a complex molecule. Almost, all the scanty in- 

 formation which we possess on this subject has been derived 

 from investigating the products of the action of different agents 

 upon organic substances ; and it is sufficiently obvious, that 

 the more varied the circumstances, and numerous the points 

 of view under which these reactions can be examined, so much 

 the more likely are we to arrive at definite results. 



It was the consideration of these points which led me to 

 undertake an investigation into the nature of the action of 

 sulphur in the free state upon organic compounds, a subject 

 hitherto totally uninvestigated, unless we except the curious 

 researches of Zeise* on the simultaneous action of ammonia and 

 sulphur upon acetone, which yields a variety of remarkable 

 products, the properties of which he has described, without 

 however determining their constitution. The results at which 

 I have already arrived in these researches are contained in 

 the following pages. They are, however, to be considered 

 only as the commencement of the investigation ; and I am 

 desirous of submitting them to the Society even in their present 

 very imperfect state, as it is impossible to fix a period within 

 which a series of researches, surrounded by so many difficul- 

 ties, can be completed. No one who has not been specially 

 occupied with such experiments can have any conception of 

 tlie numerous sources, of annoyance which they present, and 

 of the expenditure of time and labour which is necessary for 

 their performance. Indeed, I have more than once felt in- 

 clined altogether to abandon a subject occupying so much 

 time in proportion to the results obtained, and the completion 

 of which is further protracted by the nauseous odour of the 

 compounds, which is so disgusting that it is impossible to 

 pursue the investigation for any length of time continuously. 



At the commencement of these researches I endeavoured to 



examine the action of sulphur upon some of the simpler 



* Forhandlingar vid de Skandinaviska Naturforskarnes trcdje miite^ p. 303. 



