The Republican journal., 1869-10-28
VOLUME 40.
NATURAL SCIENCE.

OXYGEN. This is one of the simple organic Gle
men>, and takes it> name from two Greek words
| >SnilNin9 TO make sour,-bccause oxygen uniting
with other things is the cause Of about all the sour
things i'll the world; as, uniting with new cider in
small qualities il makes the Juice sour, and in
| larger amounts changes il into sour vinegar. Its
natural form is that of our invisible Gas, is never
found by itself but always combined with other
things, AZ with nitrogen 10 form air and with by
drogcn to form water
| And in all the aiGS science has given TO man. few
exceed the system it has adopted for naming the
countless compounds made by the union of oxygen
with other things that two or three ideas and
words become the key 10 thousands, saving mental
labor i'll that proportioh and as these names are
every moment occurring in books, in the papers, on
medicines, &C., nothing could pay better than for
every not already verScd in the matter to re-
| member this: Oxygen combining With other things
making these two compounds called acids and on
des If the article has sour proprieties it is called
an acid and always takes The name of the thing in
to which the Oxygen enters; ~, uniting With car
bon the compound is Carbonic acid; with sulphur
sulphuric acid with phosphorus, phosphoric acid :;
with nahum (an appicl mnlic acid or cider and so
on through thousands Of such words. The other
by that union IS moi acid. the compound is called
ygcn and iron united uNil, Of zine OF copper. of
leal and on through thoustnd- Of other words. all
explain Themselves without the trouble of learning
them, simply by remembering this enc idea that
the word oxide always means the union Of oxygen
with the thing spoken of. In fact an acid is only an
oxide being called 50 TO Distinguish sour things
irom those that are not SO.
There is also host Of words ending in ate
which trouble most rcoplc-4S sulphae. pho> phntr
Sc. hui all these have little key also which opens
the Meanng Of the Whole hocL: The acids Just
spoken of unite with other things and form new
compounds requiring new name, cilbonic acid
with lime 10 form common limestone. What shall
tll> compound be called? Calbonir acid and
lne expresses lis meaning We'll, but is too long for
Il name: carbon-lilne is short but is dccepton ao
not expressing all the things which make the com
pound, the oxygen of the clrbonc acid being left
out. Nov all chemists everywhere have agreed
that when any of the acids ending in ic unite with
any substance 70 form Il new compound. the ic
shall De changed INTO atc,-so that the simple name
carbonate of lime means all this--carbon and OK
ygen make carbonc acid and This with lime makes
carbonate OF lime And 50 with the word pho,-
lhAteS 50 common IL medical and agricultural
works; the very name shows at glance the ingrc-
dientS of the compound. The common articles,
Iloshate Of lime, of Soda of potash, Of iron, &C.,
all show their composition by their namc-phos-
l1atc meaning phosphorc acid which is phosl lhorus
and oxygen. 50 also all the sulphates, nitraics,
SilcatcS, borates, and host of other atcs. so per
picking to most rea,iers are as simple and more
easily learned than the letters OF the alphabct sim
ply by remembering the two OF three principles
above stated OF lahor-S;Ning machines we know
nothing that equals This classification Of facts, this
immense shortening Of the road to knowledge.
Uses Of oxygen next week.