ON THE NOMENCLATURE OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS. 127 



stand in the relation of compound radicals, we have three distinct families to 

 set apart from them : namely, essential oils, or eleoptenes ; 2nd, camphors, or 

 stearoptenes ; and 3rd, resins. 



Essential Oils Essential oils agree sufficiently in physical and chemical 



properties to admit of being referred to the same class, notwithstanding such 

 subordinate differences as the superaddition of oxygen, nitrogen, or sulpho- 

 cjanogen may occasion. 



Camphors. — Camphor is a term applied to a class characterized by re- 

 maining solid at ordinary temperatures, and by corresponding with the 

 essential oils associated with them in the same plant in the relation between 

 their hydrogen and carbon, the essential difiference between the two being 

 the superaddition of an atom of oxygen to the ingredients of the oil. 



Resins. — They thus are distinguished from the class of resins, which seem 

 to be derived from the essential oils through the substitution of oxygen for 

 hydrogen. Thus oil of turpentine is represented by C'o H** ; whilst its resin 

 is C'o H7 O, H being removed, O added. 



Acids, — With regard to this next class; I am not disposed to recom- 

 mend any innovation upon existing usage, though aware that Gerhardt has 

 proposed uniting those which contain the elements of water with the neutral 

 salts, distinguishing the former by the generic term usually applied col- 

 lectively to the whole series of combinations which they contribute to form, 

 and designating the members of each group by specific names taken from 

 those of the several bases united with them. 



Thus oil of vitriol would be called normal sulphate, whilst the several com- 

 binations produced by its action upon the alkalies, earths, and metallic oxides 

 would retain their present distinctive appellations. I much doubt however 

 whether chemists in general are as yet prepared for such an innovation; and 

 for my own part 1 should not easily reconcile myself to the propriety of 

 transferring to the acid constituent a name so long applied to the genus, of 

 which the several salts constitute the species. 



This latter objection indeed might be got over, by calling the hydrous acid, 

 in the instance before us, sulphate of water ; but such an expedient would 

 compel us to class together bodies, whose physical and chemical properties 

 appear to differ from each other as materially as those of an acid from a 

 neutral salt. 



To do this at the present time would be nothing less than to assume the 

 Binary Theory of salts as established on incontrovertible evidence, instead 

 of remaining amongst the debateable points of science, and would therefore 

 be inconsistent with the principle upon which I have proceeded, of recom- 

 mending no system of nomenclature which implies the adoption of views 

 not generally recognized. 



Neutral Salts. — Hence I should prefer that the compounds which are 

 produced by the union of a vegetable acid with a base, or, if you please, 

 by the replacement of the hydrogen in the former by a metal, should still 

 be thrown into the class of salts, the genus and species of each being cha- 

 racterized, as at present, by terms expressive of the acid and base which 

 contribute to its formation. 



Vegetable Alkalies. — With respect to these, it will be seen that the bodies 

 so-called may be thrown into one or other of the three classes of amides, 

 imides and nitriles, if these words be any longer retained in the nomencla* 

 ture of science. 



There are indeed bodies called amides which possess acid properties, such 

 as the oxamic acid, which is composed of oxamide NH^ C^ O- + oxalic acid 

 C* O' ; but this is nothing more than an instance of a conjugate acid, or of a 



