26 AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY. 



um, and some others; but the above, often called 

 oxygen salts, as being composed in part of oxygen (ex- 

 cept the muriates)^ are all formed from one of the above 

 acids, and one of the accompanying bases. The name 

 is decided, by changing the ending of the name of the 

 acid, into ate, and then putting after it the name of the 

 base, with of between. Thus, if we combine sulphuric 

 acid with lime, it forms sulphate of lime ; nitric acid 

 with lime, forms nitrate of lime; carbonic acid with 

 'lime, carbonate of lime ; carbonic acid with soda, car- 

 bonate of soda ; silicic acid with potash, silicate of pot- 

 ash ; and so of the others, each acid forming one or 

 more salts with each base, and the salt in each case 

 taking the names of both ingredients. When a second 

 salt is formed from the same ingredients, it often takes 

 a double portion of the acid, and then bi is put before 

 the name, as a prefix. Thus, 22 parts, by weight, of 

 carbonic acid with 31 parts of soda, form cai^bonate of 

 soda ; but 44 parts of carbonic acid to 81 of soda form 

 bicarbonate of soda. The first is washing soda ; the 

 last, that kind of soda used in cooking. Sometimes 

 the prefix, super, is used with the same meaning. You 

 find the expressions bicarbonate^ supercarbonate, bisul- 

 'phate, superphosphate^ and the like, all implying a 

 double dose of the acid. 



41. There is one thing that always troubles begin- 

 ners in Chemistry : it is to distinguish between the 

 substances whose names end in uret, and those whose 

 endings are in ate. This difiSciilty should be con- 

 quered in the outset. Those substances whose names 

 end in uret, are all the result of an element combined 



