218 REFUTATION OF THE SALT RADICAL THEORY. 
their capacity of saturation depends on the quantity of this 
element which can be replaced. 
96. Is not this an inversion of the obvious truth, that the 
quantity of hydrogen present is as the capacity of satura- 
tion; and that, of course, the quantity of any element which 
can be substituted for it, must be in equivalent proportion? 
Would not a student, from this, take up two erroneous 
ideas — first, that the capacity of saturation is conferred by 
the radical, and in the next place, that of all radicals, hy- 
drogen alone can give such a capacity? Is it not plain, that 
the assertion here made by the celebrated author, would be 
true of any radical? 
97. Passing over a sentence which has no bearing on the 
topic under discussion, in the fourth allegation we have a 
reiteration and expansion of the error of those by which it 
is preceded. We are informed that the "capacity of satu- 
ration augments and diminishes with the quantity of 
hydrogen which can be replaced" which is again an in- 
version of the truth, that the quantity of hydrogen varying 
with the capacity, the quantity of any other radical, com- 
petent to replace it, must be in equivalent proportion. 
98. Is not the concluding allegation a mere truism, by 
which we are informed, "that if any undetermined quantity 
of any element should be introduced into the composition 
of the radical, without changing the capacity (as measured 
by hydrogen,) the capacity would be found the same when 
measured by any other radical?" 
99. As all that is thus ascribed to hydrogen must be 
equally true of any other radical, there would have been 
less liability to misapprehension, had the generic term radi- 
cal been employed wherever hydrogen is mentioned. But 
by employing the word radical to designate halogen ele- 
ments, the advocates of the existence of compound radicals 
in amphide salts have deprived the word in question of 
much of its discriminating efficacy. In fact, their nomen- 
clature would confound all ultimate elements under one ge- 
