214 
NOMENCLATURE  OF  SALTS. 
note,  is  that  which  represents  the  equivalent  composition,  or  sup- 
posed equivalent  composition  of  a  salt,  as  expressed  in  its 
formula,  by  its  name.  In  this  way  a  picture,  as  it  were,  of  its 
formula  is  presented ;  and  any  prefix,  denoting  a  plurality  of 
equivalents  of  acid  in  a  salt,  is  not  to  be  taken  as  indicating  in  any 
manner  its  reaction,  whether  neutral,  acid,  or  alkaline.  Accord- 
ing to  this  plan,  the  salts,  represented  by  the  formulae,  FeO,S03, 
and  Fe203,3S03,  may  be  called  monosulphate  of  protoxide  of 
iron,  and  tersulphate  of  sesquioxide  of  iron. 
Here  an  incidental  question  may  be  noticed ;  namely,  the 
question  of  the  proper  way  of  indicating  the  stage  of  oxidation 
of  the  metal  of  the  base,  where  two  oxides  of  the  same  metal 
are  salifiable.  The  prevalent  nomenclature,  in  this  case,  is  to 
prefix  to  the  name  of  the  salt,  syllables  indicating  the  grade  of 
oxidation  of  the  metal.  Thus,  green  vitriol  (FeO,S03)  is  called 
protosulphate  of  iron.  Here  the  prefix,  proto,  indicates  the 
grade  of  oxidation  of  the  iron;  and  yet  it  is  placed  as  far  off 
as  possible  from  the  word  iron,  to  which  it  relates.  If  a  chemist 
were  restricted  to  these  precise  syllables  to  express  green  vitriol, 
it  would  be  more  perspicuous  for  him  to  say  sulphate  of  proto- 
iron,  prefixing  the  syllables,  proto,  to  the  word  they  are  intended 
to  affect.  This  change  of  nomenclature,  however,  is  not  advo- 
cated ;  but  it  is  contended  that  the  full  name  should  be  used, 
sacrificing  brevity  to  clearness,  and  that  the  salt  should  be  called 
sulphate  of  protoxide  of  iron. 
The  nomenclature  of  salts,  here  advocated,  may  be  called 
naming  them  on  the  equivalent-composition  principle.  The  adoption 
of  it  requires  that  the  generic  name  of  the  salt  should  be  without 
any  prefix  having  relation  to  the  base.  When  the  generic 
name  receives  any  prefix,  it  should  denote  the  number  of  equiva- 
lents of  acid.  It  is  evidently  confusing  to  use  two  prefixes,  one 
relating  to  the  acid,  the  other  to  the  base.  If  a  salt  having  the 
formula,  FeO,2S03,  were  discovered,  the  writer  commented  on 
would  probably  call  it  biprotosulphate  of  iron ;  and  if  we  had 
no  single  word  (potassa)  to  express  protoxide  of  potassium, 
then  KO,2C02,  on  the  same  principle  of  nomenclature,  would 
be  called  by  him  biprotocarbonate  of  potassium.  On  the  prin- 
ciple of  nomenclature,  advocated  in  this  note,  it  would  be  named 
bicarbonate  of  protoxide  of  potassium. 
