154 Analysis of Scientijic. Books. 



all his specimens of generalization, are feeble, and at least ten 

 years behind. As samples of composition, they are intolerably 

 heavy. 



Under sulphuric acid, we have first of all a most lame ac- 

 count of its manufacture, and secondly, a very defective and 

 incorrect table from Mr. Dalton, of its specific gravities at 

 successive stages of dihition ; though he knows, that a com- 

 plete and accurate table of this kind is indispensable to the prac- 

 tical chemist. His inconsistencies are here particularly glaring. 

 " Various statements," says he, " are to be met with in books, 

 of the specific gravity of the sulphuric acid of this coun- 

 try, which is a compound of 1 atom acid + 1 atom water," 

 (81.6 + 18.4)," From my own experiments\ 1 conclude that 

 when quite pure, its specific gravity is 1.8147*." Yet in the 

 table, immediately preceding these remarks, opposite to 1.845, 

 we find 77 per cent, by weight of real acid, instead of 81.6, an 

 error of no less than 4.6 on the hundred of the liquid acid. 

 The whole table participates in this inaccuracy, and never, by 

 any accident, approaches within two per cent, of the truth, so 

 that it is worse than useless to the chemist. 



Among his combustible acids, we miss three old acquaint- 

 ances, which he formerly introduced to our notice, the rheumic, 

 sorbic, and zumic, the latter of which was christened by him- 

 self. But he has replaced them by three others of apparently 

 equal identity and importance ; the isaguric, krameric, and 

 ellagic, which might as well have been left in their native nests, 

 till they were a little fuller formed. We are well pleased, 

 however, to see the lampic, meconic, and purpuric, though 

 we presume that he is wrong in his guesses respecting the 

 first of these. 



We are glad to find that oxalic acid is finally freed of an 

 awkward twelfth part of an atom of oxygen, Avhich vexed him in 

 a former edition. He makes it now a compound, merely of one 

 atom of carbonic acid and one atom of carbonic oxide, whose 

 joint atomic weight is 4.5 = 2.75 + 1.75. 



Upon this subject we were surprised that Dr. Thomson does 

 not refer to his own elaborate paper on the subject, in the Phi- 

 losophical Transactions for 1808 ; particularly as this is his only 

 memoir received into that distinguished collection. But, on 

 looking into the paper itself our surprise took another direction. 

 '' The committee of the Royal Society ought to be impar- 

 tial," says the Doctor, in his late. diatribe against them: in our 

 humble opinion, they have here shewn that they are impartial. 

 It little becomes Dr. Thomson, therefore, to accuse the council 

 of the Royal Society of partiality and oppression against rising 

 genius, " while all the papers written by another favoured indi- 

 vidual, however numerous, however expensive, however trifling, 



* Si/stcm, II, 11.5. 



