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ALCALIES.

ALCALIES.

AJLCAJL1ES.

PART LXV.

VV E consider these substances (one of them excepted) assimple bodies, though several chemists have asserted that theyare compound; others have even endeavoured to prove this byexperiment, but none of their proofs are yet satisfactory.

Were we permitted to judge from analogy we should be in-clined to suppose that all alcalies possess one common base, forthey have a great number of properties which are common tothem all. We have indeed seen that one (ammonia) has beendecomposed; we have proved that nitrogen enters into its com-position, (see vol. I. p. 314, &c.) but no conclusion can be drawnfrom this. We are therefore forced to consider the rest of themas simple bodies, till future discoveries remove the veil which atpresent obstructs our view.