On Oxalic Acid. 43 



4 particles of carbonie acid weigh 4 x 16*5 = 66 



2 particles of carburetted hydrogen 2 x 65 = 13 



2 particles of carbonic acid 2 X 10*5 = 21 



2 particles of water - - .2 X 7 == 14 



1 particle of charcoal - 4*5 = 4*5 



Total 118-5 



Reducing these proportions to 100 parts of acid, and 

 joining together the two inflammable gases, the numbers 

 come out as follows : 



Carbonic acid 55*70 we actually obtained 59*53 

 Inflammable air 26*69 - - - 24-28 



Water - 11*81 - - - 11*51 



Charcoal - 3*80 - - - 4*68 



100-00 100*00 



It is impossible to expect exact correspondence between 

 the theory and hypothesis, till the numbers representing the 

 weights of the elementary atoms be ascertained with more 

 rigid accuracy than has hitherto been, done. I satisfied my- 

 self with taking the nearest round numbers, which are suf- 

 ficient at least to show an evident approximation to the pro- 

 portions obtained by experiment. 



' V. Composition of Sugar, and Formation of Oxalic Acid, 



When a compound body is decomposed, and resolved into 

 a number of new substances, the products are almost always 

 simpler, or consist of integrant particles, composed of fewer 

 atoms than the integrant particles of the original body. Thus, 

 though oxalic acid is composed of nine atoms, none of the 

 products evolved, when that acid is decomposed by heat, 

 contain more than three atoms. Hence it is probable that 

 sugar is a more compound body than oxalic acid, because 

 nitric acid resolves it into a variety of new compounds, one 

 of which is oxalic acid. It may be worth while to examine 

 the action of nitric acid on sugar, and the formation o$ 

 oxalic acid, more closely than has hitherto been done, as 

 the investigation will furnish some data for estimating the 

 com position of sugar. 



Two 



