LECTURE VII.] HISTORY OF CHEMISTRY. 123 



the same way that the elements do. They compare it with 

 ammonia, and are at pains to show that, just as the latter is the 

 radical of the ammonium salts, defiant gas must be assumed in 

 the ethers. In doing so, they try to carry the analogy so far 

 that they even assert that ethylene possesses basic properties, 

 and that the reason why it does not colour litmus tincture blue 

 is merely because it is insoluble in water ; and that its alkaline 

 nature is proved, moreover, by its property of neutralising 

 hydrochloric acid, whereby hydrochloric ether, observed so 

 long ago by Basil Valentine, is produced. They then show, by 

 means of a table, how the radical C 4 H 4 or 2C 2 H 2 (olefiant gas) 

 may be assumed in the formulae of the ethers analysed by 

 them whereby complete uniformity with the ammonium salts 

 is attained : 44 



Olefiant Gas - - - 2C 2 H 

 Hydrochloric Ether 



Ether- - - - 4 C,H 2 + H 2 O 

 Alcohol - - - 4 C 2 il 2 + 2H 2 O 

 Acetic Ether 4C 2 H, + C 8 H 6 6 3 + H 2 O 



NH 3 ... Ammonia 

 NH 3 4-HC1 - Sal-ammoniac 



3 + C 8 H 6 O 3 +H 2 O 



Acetate of Ammonia 

 Oxalic Ether - 4C 2 H 2 + C 4 O 3 + H 2 O 



Oxalate of Ammonia, etc. 45 



We find the opinion that the ethers are to be regarded 

 as analogous to salts, first advanced by Dumas and Boullay, 

 although it is true that they did not adopt the usual view, in 

 accordance with which salts do not contain any water. The 

 endeavour to classify the organic compounds in the same way 

 as the inorganic ones, constituted the basis of their views, how- 

 ever ; and, since this idea was found to be applicable to a whole 

 class of substances, it was thus of great importance. The point 

 of view was distinctly dualistic, but not quite in the former 

 sense. Accordingly we find that Berzelius at first maintains a 

 very cautious attitude towards it ; 40 he finds in it at best a 



44 Here, as in all other cases, I quote the formulae of the authors, and 

 hence I employ in this case Dumas' atomic weights which are referred to 

 H= i : O= 16, C = 6, etc. 45 The table given in the paper quoted above 

 contains obvious misprints ; compare Dumas, Traite. Organic Part, I, 68. 

 46 Berzelius. Jahresbericht, 1829, 286. 



