Existence of Radicals in the Amphide Salts disproved. 63 
ceive that the haloid compounds, erroneously called double salts, 
but more correctly considered as single salts, can be exempted. 
32. Between the reaction of fluoboric acid with fluobases, and 
sulphuric acid with oxybases, is there not a great resemblance ? 
33. Iam unable to understand how, if the existence of salt 
radicals in oxysalts be inferred, the other salts of the amphigen 
class can be exempted from a corresponding inference. But if 
the existence of salt radicals in the double sulphides be admitted, 
can it be consistently denied that they exist also in double chlo- 
rides, iodides, &c.? Is there not the greatest analogy between 
the habitudes of sulphur, selenium, and tellurium, with metals, 
and those of the halogen bodies: 
34. Would not the modification of the ethereal oxysalts, to 
comport with the new hypothesis, be disadvantageous, both as re- 
spects our mental conception of those compounds, and the names 
which would be rendered appropriate? Would not the transfer 
of the oxygen from the ethereal oxide to the acid, and the crea- 
tion, thus, of new salt radicals for the organic acid salts, be ob- 
jectionable ; such as oxyoxalion for oxalates, oxytartarion for 
tartrates, oxyacetion for acetates; while, for their compounds, 
we should have oxyoxalionides, oxytartarionides, oxyacetion- 
ides, &c. ? 
35. If sulphates are to be considered as oxysulphionides, by 
what names are we to designate the sulphites, hyposulphites, and 
hyposulphates, SO?, S*02, S20%?. SO? may, perhaps, with 
more propriety be considered as consisting of a compound radical, . 
SO?, and oxygen, forming an oxide of sulphurous acid; but ina 
sulphite, anhydrous sulphuric acid, SO? becomes a species of 
oxysulphion itself, being as much the oxysulphion of the sul- 
phites, as SO* is of the sulphates. Of course SO? should have 
a direct affinity for radicals, contrary to fact. I presume that sul- 
phites would have to be trioxysulphionides ; hyposulphites, ses- 
quioxysulphionides ; sulphates, quadroxysulphionides ; while the 
hyposulphates would, I suppose, be demiquintoxysulphionides !!! 
36. Analogous complication in nomenclature would arise in 
respect to the nitrites and nitrates, phosphites and phosphates, 
arsenites and arseniates ; also as respects the carbonic and oxalic 
acids. 
37. It is true that nature has not so made her bodies as that they 
can be separated into classes, between which any distinct line 
