ORGANIC SUBSTANCES. 665 
of alcoho) and zther; he showed in the year 1816 that, these 
bodies comport themselves in such a manner as to render it pro- 
bable that 2 volumes of olefiant gas were combined in ether 
with 1 volume of the vapour of water, and in alcohol with 2. 
The accordance of this view with the specific gravity of these 
bodies in the gaseous form, and with the consequent theory of 
the formation of zether from alcohol by the withdrawal of water, 
was so complete, that it could scarcely fail to awaken a com- 
plete conviction in all such as had not previously formed a de- 
cided opinion upon the mode of combination of organic bodies. 
Further evidence in support of this view was obtained, for in- 
stance, by Mitscherlich’s examination of hydrated benzoic acid, 
which he considers a combination of 2 atoms of carbonic acid 
with 1 atom of a carburetted hydrogen obtained by him from 
this acid, and which he called Benzine = 2CO? + C”? H™. 
The discussions upon the composition of the zthers, and 
more particularly the admirable researches conducted by Dumas 
himself, or under his guidance, he still retaining the views of 
Gay-Lussac, afforded me an opportunity, in the annual account 
of the progress of Chemistry (pp. 189-201) laid before the 
Royal Academy on the 31st of March 1833, of comparing the 
two views which were entertained of the composition of organic 
bodies containing oxygen, namely, that they were oxides of a 
compound radical or compounds of binary bodies; I there 
showed that all the combinations of the ethers with acids and 
salt radicals are equally and perhaps more compatible with the 
view that ether is the oxide of a compound radical; that this oxide 
can combine, like an inorganic oxide, with anhydrous acids, both 
of organic and inorganic origin; that exposed to the action of 
hydracids its radical is reduced by the hydrogen of the acid, 
which then, with the separation of water, unites with the salt 
radical to form a kind of zther, having the same relation to 
those formed by oxyacids that a halogen salt bears to an oxy- 
gen salt. I then remarked that the still missing compounds of 
this radical with sulphur and selenium would doubtlessly be 
found, and in reality they were discovered a few years afterwards. 
This idea attracted some attention. It was adopted by Liebig, 
who gave the name of ethyle to the radical, which has been re- 
tained, though at first it was disputed by Dumas. The inter- 
change of opinion which took place between these two chemists 
upon this subject soon induced Dumas to coincide with the 
