Voith RematJcs on Prof. Whewell's Vieim. 185 



Oxideof Zinc; and also the indication of silica, alumina, and the 

 other earths, by the symbolic letters of their individual bases, 

 as S, A, &c. ; and again with ammonia and water, they are re- 

 spectively represented by the abbreviation Am, and the letter 

 q. Professor Whewell states that these contrivances and con- 

 tractions are to be considered as mere abbreviations, very con- 

 venient, but not indispensably necessary. If not so, why are 

 they introduced ? But die strict reason I imagine to be, that 

 from Prof. Whewell's wishing to render the system perfectly 

 mathematical, the different formulaj must necessarily be very 

 extended, and therefore inconvenient. I consider these abbre- 

 viations uncalled for, however, and that they must add materi- 

 ally to the rendering any system of symbolic notation intricate 

 and confused. The representation of oxygen by dots appears 

 to simplify the subject, and render the forniuUe very brief; and 

 it clearly shows at the first glance the number of proportions of 

 oxygen which enter into combinations, without at all confu- 

 sing the arrangement, or rendering other contractions for the 

 representation of the oxides or oxacids necessary, and it has 

 therefore been adopted in the present system. I also propose 

 introducing other dashes or marks to represent chlorine, io- 

 dine, bromine, fluorine, and nitrogen ; for in the combinations 

 of nitrogen with hydrogen and carbon, separately or con- 

 jointly,— as in ammonia, cyanogen, and their compounds, — 

 this latter will be found of very great service. The way in which 

 I should introduce these would be as follows: H' one propor- 

 tion of Hydrogen and one of Oxygen will represent water, 

 the dot, as in the system of Berzelius, indicating the oxygen ; 

 H' Hydrochloric or Muriatic Acid, the vertical dash indicating 

 Chlorine; H' Hydrobromic Acid, the "acute dash being Bro- 

 mine; H' Hydriodic Acid, the grave dash for Iodine; H Hy- 

 drofluoric Acid, the horizontal stroke representing Fluorinerand 

 (3 H). Ammonia, the dot beneath the symbols indicating Ni- 

 trogen ; but in case tliis formula should not appear applicable, 



the one SH + n may be adopted. With respect to the half 

 proportion?, these may be readily and conveniently represented 

 by making a fraction of the mark or accent thus: Fe, Fe, Fe~ 

 will be Iron, its Protoxide, and Peroxide, m., m; m-,m- 

 Manganese, its Protoxide, Deutoxide, and Peroxide. 



I fear that this introduction of accents and fractional ac- 

 cents will be condennied by those who wish to establish a 

 system on pure algebraic reasoning. But I doubt very much 

 whether a system can be so established without rendering the 

 lorniuhe very extended, and in fact superseding the use of 



Til iid Scries. Vol. 1. No. 3. SeiH. 1832. 2B 



