152 • Analt/sii of Scientific Books. 



Nobody ever " destroyed the unity of Chemistry to such a de- 

 gree, as we see he has done, in his first volume ; nobody has 

 " exhibited the science in so unconnected a manner ;" and 

 nobody has done so much to " retard the progress of the 

 student," and to " fatigue p.nd di?n:"f.t those, who are already 

 acquainted with the subject." His tautologies are endless, and 

 his self'-con'radictions intolerable. 



Azote, which had figured by itself as an incombustible, in the 

 first volume, becomes a combustible in the second. Book II. is 

 entitled, " of compound bodies." Its first division contains 

 ♦' Primary Compounds^ Of these, the first subdivision is called 

 " compounds of oxygen with simple combustibles." It has 

 three chapters ; the first treats of unsalifiable oxides ; the second 

 of salifiable bases; the third, of acids. Of the last, he has 

 two genera ; acids with a simple basis, and combustible acids. 

 Before he reaches the combustible acids, oyie hundred and thirty- 

 three -pages are occupied with details, which, to a very great 

 extent had been already given in the first volume. His unsali- 

 fiable oxides, are the two oxides of azote, the two of hydrogen, 

 and carbonic oxide, which occupy five sections. These are, for 

 the most part, mere repetitions of what he had given us before, 

 'i'he salifiable bases are described in his second chapter, which 

 is divided into two sections, the combustible bases, and the me- 

 tallic oxides ; beginning, as usual, with the most intricate sub- 

 jects, ammonia, morphia, ^-c. 



The quantity of quicklime, which he prescribes for the decom- 

 position of sal-amni(7niac, is extravagantly great; three of the 

 former to one of the latter ; whereas equal weights are quite 

 sufficient in practice. The equivalent proportions are nearly 

 ] of lime, to 2 of the salt. His account of water of ammonia is 

 n mass of confusion, joined to a suppression, or perversion 

 of known facts. " Water, by my trials," says he, " is capable of 

 absorbing 7 80 times its bulk of this gas; while in the mean 

 time, the h\\\k of the liquid increases from 6 to 10. The specific 

 gravity of this solution, is 0.900, which just accords with the in- 

 crease of bulk." 



Now, as 780 cubic inches of this gas weigh 7.80 X 18=140.4 

 grains, which combine with one cubic inch of water weighing 

 'i52.5 grains, we have their sum = 39'2.9 grains. Now 392.9 : 

 140.4 :: 100 : 35.74 = ammonia in 100. And 252.5 ; 392.9: : 

 ^ : 9.33 = increase of weight on six parts. But the weight, 

 divided by the specific gravity, will give the volume. Hence 



Mi.=: 10..3n6 

 0.9U 

 instead of his 10 ; so that his arithmetic is as erroneous as we 

 shall shew his experiments to be. 



From the first proportion above, we see that such water as "he 

 made in his trials," contained 35.74 per cent, of ammonia. 



