33 S Ort thg cdnjlituent Parts of Azot. 



Go'ettling, Wiegleb, Von Hauch^ Weftrumb, Achard, Wiir- 

 zer, Juch, Van Mons, Pacts, Van Trooftwyk, and Deinian. 

 It appears to me that this famous difpute has a great re- 

 femblance to many others mentioned in the annals of our 

 fcience, and by which the moft important points of the 

 theory of chemiftry have been fixed. Such was the difpute 

 on the exiftence or non-exirtence of the carbonic acid in 

 chalk, which occupied all the chemifts of Europe for feveral 

 years ; and fuch was that refpetling the exillence or non- 

 exiftence of oxygen in the red oxyd of mercury : a difpute 

 in which I myfelf was engaged, and abufed by the German 

 chemifts, and particularly Gren, who was exceedingly apt 

 to become warm *. 



Wiegleb, Goettllng, and Von Crell, aflert, 

 I. That the fteam of water, in pafling through ignited 

 tubes,' is converted into azotic gas. 



3. That this change always takes place, and under all 

 circumftances, provided the fteam of the water is* brought 

 \R\.o contaft with the ignited bodies. 



3. That water is changed into azvtic gas by combining 

 itfelf with caloric. 



4. That water is the ponderable bafe of azotic gas and of 

 all the other gafes. 



5. That confequently the theory of Lavoifier is falfe. 

 The Dutch chemilts, as well as Von Hauch, Juch, Van 



Mons, &c. maintain, 



I. That the fleam of water, in pafling through ignited 

 tubes, is not converted into azotic gas in any cafe whatever. 



3. That the azotic gas obtained, has not been a produc- 

 tion of the water, but has arifen from a part of the atmo- 

 fpheric air which paffed through the tubes. 



3. That confequently the theory of Lavoifier remains un- 

 fhaken ; and that the theory of phlogifton, or that of water, 

 being the bafe of all the gafes, is erroneous. 



Being much interefted in this difpute, I followed its' 

 progrcis with great attention ; but I was forry to fee party 



* All the opinions maintained by Gren were erroneous ; but he had 

 the merit of writing his Syjlemalifcbei Handbuch, which is an excellent 

 compilation. Grea wite a good compiler, but a bad reafoiier. 



7~ fpirit 



