on the Alcohol of Sulphur, or Sulphuret of Carbon, 191 



its extreme simplicity. From that ingenious^ mode of expressing 

 combinations, the sulphuret of carbon ought to consist of two 

 atoms of sulphur to one of carbon, since, according to that 

 system, both the sulphureous and carbonic acids are composed 

 of t\Yo atoms of oxygen to one of radical. But it is probable, 

 that the gaseous oxyd of carbon consists of two atoms of carbon 

 to one of oxygen, because the quantity of carbon required to 

 convert carbonic acid into carbonic oxyd, exactly doubles the 

 volume of the acid. In this case, and if, according to Mr. 

 Dalton's supposition, sulphureous acid consists of two atoms 

 of oxygen to one of sulphur, the alcohol of sulphur would be, 

 like all the other sulphurets at the minimum, composed of one 

 atom of sulphur to one of carbon. 



Sir H.Davy, in his Elements of Chemical Philosophy, adopts, 

 like Mr. Dalton, the idea that sulphureous acid gas consists 

 of one portion of sulphur to two of oxygen ; and agreeably to 

 this, he supposes for instance that the sulphurets of copper, 

 or of silver, are composed of one portion of sulphur to one of 

 the metal. But on the other hand, he considers other sulphu- 

 rets, such as those of antimony, of iron, and of lead, as con- 

 sisting of two portions of sulphur to one of the metal, and the 

 sulphuret of zinc would, according to his views, be composed 

 of two portions of the metal to one of sulphur. Yet, notwith- 

 standing this great diversity in the estimation of proportions, 

 all these sulphurets are so constituted that, if the compound be 

 fully oxydated, it remains in a state of perfect saturation. The 

 cause of these apparent inconsistencies seems to be, that the 

 supposed atom, or ultimate particle, or that which is to be re- 

 garded as the single portion of a body, requires to be fixed 

 according to some determinate law, before Mr. Dalton's 



