i ;6 Dr. Priestley’s Experiments and Obfervations on 
fauces , as the antiphlogiflic theory makes them to be. Alfo, 
the fame thing that they have parted with, viz. inflammable air 
(or rather fomething that is left of inflammable air when the 
water is taken from it, and which may as well be called phlo- 
gifton as any thing elle) may be transferred to other fubffances, 
and thus contribute to form any of the metals, lulphur, phof- 
phorus, or any thing elfe that has been deemed to contain phlo- 
giffon. This phlogiflon alfo, no doubt, having weight, it 
perfedlly correfponds to the definition of a fubjlance , having 
certain affinities, by means of which it is transferred from 
one body to another, as much as the different acids. 
If there be no fuch thing as one principle of phlogiflon, 
transferable from one fubflance to another, it muff be admitted, 
that inflammable air from fulphur is real fulphur and water, 
that from iron, iron and water, as well as that very different 
fubflance, the fcale of iron . And fince copper, or any other 
metal, may be made of inflammable air from iron, &c. all the 
metals will be, in fadl, convertible into one another. At 
leaf!:, it may be faid, that all the component parts of any one 
metal may be fo incorporated with any other, that no teft Can 
dete£l it. Alfo iron, made of inflammable air from fulphur, 
ought, upon this hypothefis, to have the properties o £ Julphurated 
iron , which undoubtedly it would not have. An hypothefis 
loaded with thefe difficulties muff: be inadmiffible ; whereas 
that of phlogiflon is extremely fimple, and, as far as appears, of 
univerfal application. 
The difcovery that the greateff part of the weight of in- 
flammable air, as well as of other kinds of air, is water, does 
not make the ufe of the term phlogiflon lefs proper : for it 
may be Hill given to that principle , or thing, which, when' 
added to water, makes it to be inflammable air ; as the term 
5 oxygenous. 
