through all the varieties of their possible application; it is enough to
have given the method of naming the various salts, which, when once well
understood, is easily applied to every possible combination. The name of
the combustible and acidifiable body being once known, the names of the
acid it is capable of forming, and of all the neutral combinations the
acid is susceptible of entering into, are most readily remembered. Such
as require a more complete illustration of the methods in which the new
nomenclature is applied will, in the Second Part of this book, find
Tables which contain a full enumeration of all the neutral salts, and,
in general, all the possible chemical combinations, so far as is
consistent with the present state of our knowledge. To these I shall
subjoin short explanations, containing the best and most simple means of
procuring the different species of acids, and some account of the
general properties of the neutral salts they produce.
I shall not deny, that, to render this work more complete, it would have
been necessary to add particular observations upon each species of salt,
its solubility in water and alkohol, the proportions of acid and of
salifiable base in its composition, the quantity of its water of
cristallization, the different degrees of saturation it is susceptible
of, and, finally, the degree of force or affinity with which the acid
adheres to the base. This immense work has been already begun by Messrs
Bergman, Morveau, Kirwan, and other celebrated chemists, but is hitherto
only in a moderate state of advancement, even the principles upon which
it is founded are not perhaps sufficiently accurate.
These numerous details would have swelled this elementary treatise to
much too great a size; besides that, to have gathered the necessary
materials, and to have completed all the series of experiments
requisite, must have retarded the publication of this book for many
years. This is a vast field for employing the zeal and abilities of
young chemists, whom I would advise to endeavour rather to do well than
to do much, and to ascertain, in the first place, the composition of the
acids, before entering upon that of the neutral salts. Every edifice
which is intended to resist the ravages of time should be built upon a
sure foundation; and, in the present state of chemistry, to attempt
discoveries by experiments, either not perfectly exact, or not
sufficiently rigorous, will serve only to interrupt its progress,
instead of contributing to its advancement.
124