14 Sketch of the Improvements in Science [Jan. 



by any means in our power, Davy's opinion at first sight is more 

 simple, and seems a more correct statement of the phenomena : 

 but, on the other hand, muriatic and oxymuriatic acid, vvhen com- 

 bined with bases, form most commonly the very same saline bodies; 

 or if there be any diflerence, the salt formed obviously contains 

 oxygen. Davy gets rid of this difhculty ; but it is by suppositions 

 so very violent, and su little supported by analogy, that few che- 

 mists, 1 conceive, could be brought to embrace them in the present 

 state of our knowledge. 



3. Sir H. Davy's theory of chlorine has been opposed with much 

 acuteness in two papers published in the Amials of Philosophy/, by 

 Mr. Henderson and Dr. Berzclius. I do not consider myself as at 

 present entitled to give an opinion on so intricate a-sul)ject. For 

 this reason I shall not enter into any discussion respecting the expe- 

 riment made in the College Laboratory of Edinburgh, to determine 

 whether sal-ammoniac, formed from muriatic acid and ammoniacal 

 gases artificially dried, contains any water ; nor make any comment 

 on the opposite statements of Mr. John Davy and Mr. Murray 

 respecting tliat experiment, as published in Nicholson's Journal. 1 

 may perhaps be tempted to resume the subject hereafter. 



4. Mr. .John Davy's experiments on fluoric acid, published in 

 the Philosophical Transactions for 1S12, have been followed up by 

 a set of experiments and conjectures on the same sui;stance by Sir 

 Humphry Davy. Of these I shall give an account in a future 

 Number of the Annals of Pliilnsojjhy. He supposes that the base 

 of fluoric acid is hydrogen, and that the hydrogen is combined with 

 an unknown supporter of combustion, to which he gives the name 

 oi Jluorins. Fluorine unites to bases, like oxygen and chlorine, 

 and forms acids. Thus with silicium it forms silicated fluoric acid; 

 with boron, fluoborie acid ; and so on. 



5. The experiments of Drs. Berzelius and Marcet on the sul- 

 phuret of carbon make us acquainted witli the composition of a 

 body possessing new and very curious and unexpected properties. 

 It was originally discovered by Lampadius, who gave it the name 

 of alcohol of sulphur. Clement and Desormes afterwards analysed 

 it, and found it a compound of sulphur and charcoal : but this 

 result was called in (jucstion by Berthollet, who maintained that it 

 contained hydrogen : an opinion atteruards confirmed by Bcrthollct, 

 jun. Still more lately it was examined by M. Cluzell, who con- 

 ceived it to be a compound of sulphur, carbon, hydrogen, and 

 a/ote. This induced Thenard and Vauquelin to resume their expe- 

 riments on it ; and both of them ascertained that the only consti- 

 tuents were sul[)hur and carbon, and that these bodies were united 

 nearly in the proportions of 85 parts of suli)hur and 15 of carbon. 

 This agrees very nearly with the results of Berzelius and Marcet, 

 obtained aliout the same time, and without any knowledge of the 

 experiments of the French chemists. 



This substance is obtained by subliming sulphur through red-hot 

 charcoal, ccndensing the product in water, and rectifying it by 



