Patten—Solutions of Hydrochloric Acid in Solvents. 317 
The facts that water gives numerous solutions which conduct 
electricity, and that certain reactions were found to he peculiar 
to aqueous solution, lead O'stwald to state 1 without adequate 
investigation that non-aqueous solutions do not conduct the elec¬ 
tric current. The fact that a number of reactions take place 
instantaneously in aqueous solutions which conduct, has lead 
others to promulgate the idea (very slightly qualified) first, 
that chemical action cannot go on in absence of water, since 
water alone gives “ions” and “ions” are needed for reaction to 
take place; and then when it was shown that instantaneous 
chemical reaction 2 takes place in solutions which conduct less 
than a dry air-gap, it was suggested 3 that benzene itself pos¬ 
sesses dissociating properties; and that the evidence is not clear 
that every precaution was taken to dry the substances and ex¬ 
clude moisture in Prof. Kahlenberg’s experiments ; and finally 
that “the experiments have no bearing on the theory of electro¬ 
lytic dissociation.” * 
HISTORICAL. 
In this connection a review of the work done upon the influ¬ 
ence of moisture upon chemical reaction is of interest. In 1802 
Mrs. Fulhame 1 observed that presence of moisture is necessary 
for the reduction of salts of gold by “phosphorated ether” or 
by hydrogen. Higgins 2 in 1814 found that “dry muriatic acid 
has no action on dry calcareous earth, while these substances 
readily unite if moisture is present.” In 1837 Bonsdorf 3 
showed that dry air free from: carbondioxide does not act upon 
clean, dry, potassium, arsenic, 4 bismuth, lead (commercial or 
pure), zinc, cadmium, iron, or copper. In 1838 Begnault 5 
found that dry chlorine and dry olefiant gas would not unite in 
1 Grundriss der Allgemeinen Chemie, 390 and 391. 
2 L. Kahlenberg, Jour. Phys. Chem. 6, 1, 1. 
3 Lectures delivered before the Brooklyn Institute and published in the 
American Druggist and Pharmaceutical Record, October 27, 1902. By 
H. C. Jones. 
1 Thomson. A System of Chemistry, Vol. ii, 544, 1802. 
2 Higgins’ Experiments and Observations on the Atomic Theory, 1814. 
3 Ann. Phys. Chem. 1837, 41, 293; 42, 325. 
4 Bergman is given the priority in the case of arsenic. 
5 Ann. Chim. Phys. 1838 (ii), 60, 176. 
