Transcriber’s Note: Boldface text is indicated by │bars│ and Italic text by _underscores_. Subscripts are shown as normal numbers: H2O. A HISTORY OF THE SCIENCES │Astronomy│, by Prof. GEORGE FORBES, F.R.S. │Chemistry, 2 volumes│, by Sir EDWARD THORPE, C.B., D Sc., F.R.S., etc. (Director of Government Laboratories) │Old Testament Criticism│, by Prof. ARCHIBALD DUFF (Prof. of Hebrew and Old Testament Theology in the United College, Bradford) _In Active Preparation_— │New Testament Criticism│, by F. C. CONYBEARE, M.A. (Late Fellow and Prælector of Univ. Coll., Oxford) │Geology│, by H. B. WOODWARD, F.R.S., F.G.S. (Assistant Director of Geological Survey) │Geography│, by Dr. SCOTT KELTIE, F.R.G.S., F.S.A. G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS New York London [Illustration: JUSTUS VON LIEBIG] _A HISTORY OF THE SCIENCES_ HISTORY OF CHEMISTRY BY SIR EDWARD THORPE C.B., LL.D., F.R.S. AUTHOR OF “ESSAYS IN HISTORICAL CHEMISTRY,” “HUMPHRY DAVY: POET AND PHILOSOPHER,” “JOSEPH PRIESTLEY,” ETC., ETC. TWO VOLUMES II. From 1850 to 1910 _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS_ G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS NEW YORK AND LONDON The Knickerbocker Press 1910 COPYRIGHT, 1910 BY G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS This series is published in London by THE RATIONALIST PRESS ASSOCIATION, LIMITED The Knickerbocker Press, New York PUBLISHERS’ NOTE A History of the Sciences has been planned to present for the information of the general public a historic record of the great divisions of science. Each volume is the work of a writer who is accepted as an authority on his own subject-matter. The books are not to be considered as primers, but present thoroughly digested information on the relations borne by each great division of science to the changes in human ideas and to the intellectual development of mankind. The monographs explain how the principal scientific discoveries have been arrived at and the names of the workers to whom such discoveries are due. The books will comprise each about 200 pages. Each volume will contain from 12 to 16 illustrations, including portraits of the discoverers and explanatory views and diagrams. Each volume contains also a concise but comprehensive bibliography of the subject-matter. The following volumes will be issued during the course of the autumn of 1909. │The History of Astronomy.│ By GEORGE FORBES, M.A., F.R.S., M. Inst. C.E.; author of _The Transit of Venus_, etc. │The History of Chemistry: Vol. I. circa 2000 B.C. to 1850 A.D. Vol. II. 1850 A.D. to date.│ By SIR EDWARD THORPE, C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., Director of the Government Laboratories, London; Professor-elect and Director of the Chemical Laboratories of the Imperial College of Science and Technology; author of _A Dictionary of Applied Chemistry_. _To be followed by_: │The History of Geography.│