PREFACE. THE AUTHOR has long felt in the course of his duties as Lecturer on Chemistry the anomalous position of a master who had to employ for something important in the science an expression to which he could not assign any definite meaning. This has been the case with the term 'acid.' As all manuals in general use gave the word acid freely and promiscuously, it was found impracticable to do away with the term while these books sanctioned its constant application. The requirement of a small book of notes on the metals,' for the pupils at Brighton College, has been taken advantage of to ascertain how far the writer's views are correct. They are these: 1. The term acid is not necessary in teaching chemistry. 2. Clearer and more accurate views on chemical subjects will be instilled into the minds of beginners without it than by using it as is done at present in most class-books and classes. 3. Its employment, even in the most limited degree, without assigning to it a definite meaning, is improper, since it leaves only a hazy idea of what is intended, where clearness is one of the first objects to be, if possible, attained. The term 'acid' is therefore nct applied in these notes. Some information, it may be thought, might have been omitted, and much more of what is considered essential substituted with advantage. The work, however, has already exceeded the limits originally intended, and indulgence is claimed for the very great difficulty of expressing new views in a simple and condensed form. The references in the text (see C. N. p. ) are to the second edition of the Author's Chemical Notes.' T. W. LABORATORY: 23 GROVE STREET, LISSON GROVE, N.W. September 29, 1868. |