the water by which, in
the former case, the effervescence is occasioned.

A third phenomenon, which requires particular consideration, is, that
none of the metals produce effervescence by solution in oxygenated
muriatic acid. During this process the metal, in the first place,
carries off the excess of oxygen from the oxygenated muriatic acid, by
which it becomes oxydated, and reduces the acid to the state of ordinary
muriatic acid. In this case there is no production of gas, not that the
muriatic acid does not tend to exist in the gasseous state in the common
temperature, which it does equally with the acids formerly mentioned,
but because this acid, which otherwise would expand into gas, finds more
water combined with the oxygenated muriatic acid than is necessary to
retain it in the liquid form; hence it does not disengage like the
sulphurous acid, but remains, and quietly dissolves and combines with
the metallic oxyd previously formed from its superabundant oxygen.

The fourth phenomenon is, that metals are absolutely insoluble in such
acids as have their bases joined to oxygen by a stronger affinity than
these metals are capable of exerting upon that acidifying principle.
Hence silver, mercury, and lead, in their metallic states, are insoluble
in muriatic acid, but, when previously oxydated, they become readily
soluble without effervescence.

From these phenomena it appears that oxygen is the bond of union between
metals and acids; and from this we are led to suppose that oxygen is
contained in all substances which have a strong affinity with acids:
Hence it is very probable the four eminently salifiable earths contain
oxygen, and their capability of uniting with acids is produced by the
intermediation of that element. What I have formerly noticed relative to
these earths is considerably strengthened by the above considerations,
viz. that they may very possibly be metallic oxyds, with which oxygen
has a stronger affinity than with charcoal, and consequently not
reducible by any known means.

All the acids hitherto known are enumerated in the following table, the
first column of which contains the names of the acids according to the
new nomenclature, and in the second column are placed the bases or
radicals of these acids, with observations.

_Names of the Acids._ _Names of the Bases, with Observations._

1. Sulphurous }Sulphur.
2. Sulphuric }

3. Phosphorous }Phosphorus.