Dr. Thomson- — and his Answer. 349 



sage, as it is a good sample of his way of tempting readers into 

 a belief that he is right, while he must know that he is wrong, 

 " The allegation of the Reviewer, that my analysis of oxalic 

 acid was inaccurate, because my oxalic acid still retained 32.5 

 per cent, of water, is disgracefully unjust. He must have 

 known that my experiments were not made upon oxalic acid, 

 but upon a dry oxalate. No ivater existed in the acid as I em- 

 ployed it, and therefore none was to be deducted. My near 

 approach to truth in these experiments, notwithstanding the 

 numerous difficulties attending my method, affords unequivocal 

 evidence of the great care employed in the experiment *." The 

 words we have put into Italics are false, and he knows them to 

 be so, as the world shall also forthwith learn. 



" Eighty-nine grains of well-dried oxalate of lime," says Dr. 

 Thomson in the above memoir, " were exposed in a small retort, 

 to a heat gradually raised to redness ; the products were the 

 following : — 



Grains 



45.6 cubic inches of gas, weighing . . 14.8 



Water 6.4 



Residue in retort 62.4 



83.6 

 Loss 5.4 



Total . . 89.0 

 " The 62.4 grains of residue in the retort were composed of 



Lime 33.4 grains 



Carbonic acid . 26.4 

 Charcoal .... 2.6 



62.4 

 " Now it is clear that the 89 grains t f oxalate of lime were 

 composed of lime 33.4, acid 55.6 = 89. The acid was com- 

 pletely decomposed, and resolved into the following products : 



Carbonic acid 33.1 



Inflammable air 13.5 



Water 6.4 



Charcoal 2.6 



55.6 

 " Had the experiments been made upon 100 grains of oxalic 

 acid, instead of 55.6, it is clear that the proportions would have 

 been as follows : 



Carbonic acid 59.53 



Inflammable air 24.28 



Water 11.51 



Charcoal 4.68 



100.00 



* Answer, p. '.'7 1 • 



Vol, Xlir. 2 B 



