440 Dr. Thomson's Observations on the Weights of [Dec. 



Number of atoms. Weight of 



a particle. 



179 Nitric ether . . 4 defiant gas + 1 nitric acid? . . 10*250? 



180 Chloric ether. . 2 defiant gas + 1 chlorine 6-250 



181 Muriatic ether. 4 defiant gas + 1 muriatic acid?. 8*125? 



182 Hydriodic ether 4 defiant gas + 1 hydriodic acid ? 19-250? 



183 Acetic ether . . 4 defiant gas + 1 acetic acid? . . 9-875? 



184 Formic ether . . 4 defiant gas + 1 formic acid ?. . 8*125? 



185 Olive oil 11 h + 10 c + 1 o 9-875 



186 Bees-wax 18 h + 20 c + 1 o 18-250 



187 Rosin 13 h . + 15 c + 2 o 14-875 



188 Copal 18 h + 19 c + 2 o 18-500 



189 Woody fibre 4 h + 7 c + 4 o 9-750 



190 Starch sugar 5 h + 5 c + 5 o 9-375 



191 Common sugar. .. 5 h + 6c + 5o 10-125 



192 Gum arabic 6 h + 6 c + 6 o 11-250 



193 Starch 10 h + 10 c + 9 o 17-750 



194 Gelatin U h + 15 c + 6 o + 2 a . . 22-500 



195 Albumen 13 h + 17 c + 6 o +. 2 a . . 23-875 



196 Fibrin 14 h + 18 c + 5 o + 3 a . . 25-500 



As we are ignorant of the weight of the last 20 bodies which 

 are capable of uniting with a given weight of any other com- 

 pound, it is obvious that we have no means of determining the 

 weight of an integrant particle of them. The numbers in the 

 table represent the weights of the smallest number of atoms 

 which agree with the analysis of each. If these analyses 

 approach the truth, it is obvious that an integrant particle of 

 each of these bodies must be either the number given in the 

 table, or some multiple of that number, as two, three, four times 

 the number. These analyses may be of some service in direct- 

 ing the attention of chemists towards the kind of binary com- 

 pound of the union of which these bodies may be supposed to 

 consist. But it wodd be a mistake to consider the second 

 column of the table as representing the real constitution of the 

 vegetable and animal bodies subjected to analysis. 



I shall now proceed to give an example or two of the consti- 

 tution of the salts. It would be unnecessary to give complete 

 tables of all the salts, because their composition may be readily 

 conceived by considering each neutral salt as a combination of 

 one atom acid and one atom base. 



Sulphates. 



Atoms of acid, base, Weight of a 

 and water. particle.* 



197 Sulphate of ammonia . . . . 1 s + 1 a + 3 water 7*125 



198 Sdphate of potash 1 s + \p 11-000 



» The water is not included in this weight. The reader may easily supply the 

 deficiency. 



