igo Prof. Berzelius's Experiments 



he oxydated to a certain degree, they will either absorb an equal 

 quantity of oxygen, or the one will absorb two, three, four, (^c. 

 times as much oxygen as the other. As to the metallic sulphurets 

 in general, those which are called sulphurets at the minimum, 

 are so composed that the sulphur requires twice as much oxy- 

 gen in order to become sulphureous acid, or three times as 

 much in order to become sulphuric acid, as the metallic body 

 requires to become an oxyd or saline basis ; and it is on that 

 account, that the sulphurets in minimum produce, by their oxy- 

 dation, neutral sulphites, or sulphates. Now, by comparing the 

 quantities of oxygen required to convert the sulphur into sul- 

 phureous acid, and the carbon into carbonic acid, it appears that 

 the first quantity is twice as great as the latter. The small 

 difference is to be ascribed to the impossibility of obtaining 

 perfectly accurate results in analytical processes so complicated 

 as this ; and therefore the sulphuret of carbon may be consi- 

 dered as constituted according to the same law as the other 

 sulphurets ; so that the sulphur which it contains requires 

 twice as much oxygen to become sulphureous acid, as the 

 carbon requires to become carbonic acid. Admitting, there- 

 fore, that the above views of the composition of those two 

 acids are correct, the sulphuret of carbon would consist of 

 15,47 parts of carbon, to 84,53 parts of sulphur; and in that 

 case the result of our analysis of the alcohol of sulphur would 

 only differ by i per cent, from the proportions obtained by 

 that mode of estimation. 



C Observations on the atomic doctrine of chemical Combination, 



Mr. Dalton has lately proposed a mode of viewing the 

 subject of determinate proportions, which is distinguished by 



