EPITOME OF CHEMISTRY, IN THREE PARTS. PART I. Intended to facilitate to the Student, the Acquifition of Che PART II. Directions for the Analysis of Mineral Waters; of Earths and PART III. Inftructions for applying Chemical Tefts and Re-agents to va- BY WILLIAM HENRY. Philadelphia: PRINTED AND SOLD BY JAMES HUMPHREYS, PREFACE. THE Small Volume, which I now offer to the Public, is one of humble pretenfions: yet its plan and objects appear to me fufficiently diftinct, from thofe of every other compendium of chemistry, to authorize the addition of one more to the extenfive lift of elementary works. The Chemical Pocket Book" of Mr. Parkinson, and the "Defcription of a Portable Cheft of Chemistry," tranflated from the German of Gottling, and published in the year 1791, might, perhaps, from the fimilarities of title and fize, be fupposed to have precluded the neceffity of this publication. A very curfory comparifon, however, of Mr. Parkinson's work, with this manual, will evince that the plan and objects of the two books are totally dif ferent. To the work of Mr. Gottling, the prefent bears, indeed, a nearer resemblance, but the coincidence is not Juch, as to fuperfede the utility of this Epitome. The enumeration of tefts for mineral waters; the inftructions for applying thefe re-agents; and the rules for detecting adul terations, are fubjects common to both. But the progrefs of Chemical knowledge, during the last ten years, has This Work may be bad of the Printer hereof, embellished with Plates of economical Laboratories, &c. &c. been fo rapid, as to enable me to make numerous additions to the information of Mr. Gottling; and to induce me materially to vary the arrangement, under which it was offered. It may be added, that the ancient Nomenclature of chemiftry, employed throughout Mr. Gottling's work, muft render it nearly unintelligible to ftudents of the reformed fyftem. The arranged feries of experiments was fuggefted to me as proper for publication by a written catalogue, which I drew up, more than two years ago, of the experiments performed during my course of chemical lectures. This 1 deem it neceffary to ftate; because something fimilar is to be found in an excellent manual, lately published by Bouillon la Grange. In a work, profeffedly compiled from others, new and original information is not to be expected; and it cannot be neceffary to quote all the authorities for facts. If there be any one author, to whom I owe most, it is certainly to Mr. Kirwan, whofe interefting and masterly works comprehend almost every fubject of chemical enquiry. The directions for analyzing minerals are tranflated, with confiderable additions and alterations, from Vauquelin's paper, in the 30th volume of the Annales de Chimie. I have now only to intreat the candid indulgence of the reader towards the errors and omissions which will doubtlefs be found in this work; and in apology for which, I have to allege, that on undertaking the publication, I had a prospect of confiderably more leifure, than fell to my lot in the profecution of it. This apology, I am under the necefity of prefixing, alfo, to this fecond edition; the rapid fale of the first having allowed me no time for material alterations, and having limited me to a few verbal corrections. MANCHESTER, |