33 COMBINATIONS OF OXALIC ACID. 



tions calculated from the capacity of the alkalis for muriatic 

 acid*, supposing, that those of oxalate of lime are accurate. 



Names of the neutral 

 salts. 



Acid. 



Tabukted re- 

 suits. 



Oxalate of liuie j 



of pota-ih 



--of soda j 



of a mm. 



— — — -^- of stron. 



— — — — of baryt, 



— of magn. 



100 

 100 

 100 

 100 

 100 

 100 



Base obtained j Bab^e obtained 



in my expe- in Ur Thonv 



rimenrs. son's 



61-2 

 1027 



69-7 



38-2 

 119-5 

 164-3 



376 



60 

 12-2-86 



67*14 



34*12 

 151-51 

 142-86 



35-71 



Ha^e Calcula- 

 ted irona the 

 capacity for 

 saturation. 



61.2 

 103-8 

 68-9 



113-4 



164-3 



t 



All the oxa- 

 lates do not 

 combine with 

 more acid. 



The acid has 

 jreat force of 

 coh«sioA) 



which ac- 

 «ounls for 

 this. 



and for the 

 formation of 

 quadroxalate 

 of potash. 



All the oxalates have not the property of combining with 

 an excess of acid, as my experiments show. It is the force of 

 cohesion of the acid, combined with that of the alkali, 

 which determines the existence of the superoxalates. 



In fact, the great number of insoluble salts, which the 

 oxalic acid forms with the bases, tends to prove, that this 

 acid possesses great force of cohesion. To this quality is 

 owing its property of forming with the soluble alkalis salt* 

 with excess of acid less soluble than the neutral salts J. 



Accordingly the soluble oxalates alone can take up an 

 excess of acid. It is true the oxalate of barytes, which is but 

 sparingly soluble, is capable of forming a superoxalate; but 

 the excess of acid is so feebly retained in this compound, 

 that the action of water is sufficient to separate it. 



We may farther consider it as a natural consequence of 

 what I have just observed, that potash, which forms the 

 most soluble superoxalate, is capable of forming a qua- 

 droxalate, while on the contrary the little solubility of the 

 superoxalates of soda and ammonia, added to the gfeat 



* I have taken the proporttons of the muriates ascertained by Mr. 

 Rose, whose accuracy is well known. I omit however the muriate of 

 ammonia, because he analysed the salt obtained by sublimation, in 

 which Slate it contains a slight excess of acid, and, no doubi a little 

 water. 



t The agreement between. the proportions in this column and those 

 deduced from my experiments is so striking, that 1 feel it necessary to 

 declare, that my experiments were finished before the calculations were 

 Iftade. 



% Statique chimique, torn, I, p. 351, 



capacity 



