3. Bergman, not satisfied with pointing out the mode of analyzing mineral waters, attempted to imitate them artificially by chemical processes, and published two essays on the subject; in the first he showed the processes by which cold mineral waters might be imitated, and in the other, the mode of imitating hot mineral waters. The attempt was valuable, and served to extend greatly the chemical knowledge of mineral waters, and of the salts which they contain; but it was made at too early a period of the analytical art, to approach perfection. A similar remark applies to his analysis of sea-water. The water examined was brought by Sparmann from a depth of eighty fathoms, near the latitude of the Canaries: Bergman found in it only common salt, muriate of magnesia, and sulphate of lime. His not having discovered the presence of sulphate of magnesia is a sufficient proof of the imperfection of his analytical methods; the other constituents exist in such small quantity in sea-water that they might easily have been overlooked, but the quantity of sulphate of magnesia in sea-water is considerable. 4. I shall pass over the paper on oxalic acid, which constituted the subject of a thesis, supported in 1776, by John Afzelius Arfvedson. It is now known that oxalic acid was discovered by Scheele, not by Bergman. It is impossible to say how many of the numerous facts stated in this thesis were ascertained by Scheele, and how many by Afzelius. For, as Afzelius was already a _magister docens_ in chemistry, there can be little doubt that he would himself ascertain the facts which were to constitute the foundation of his thesis. It is indeed now known that Bergman himself intrusted all the details of his experiments to his pupils. He was the contriver, while his pupils executed his plans. That Scheele has nowhere laid claim to a discovery of so much importance as that of oxalic acid, and that he allowed Bergman peaceably to bear away the whole credit, constitutes one of the most remarkable facts in the history of chemistry. Moreover, while it reflects so much credit on Scheele for modesty and forbearance, it seems to bear a little hard upon the character of Bergman. When he published the essay in the first volume of his Opuscula, in 1779, why did he not in a note inform the world that Scheele was the true discoverer of this acid? Why did he allow the discovery to be universally assigned to him, without ever mentioning the true state of the case? All this appeared so contrary to the character of Bergman, that I was disposed to doubt the truth of the statement, that Scheele was the discoverer of oxalic acid. When I was at Fahlun, in the year 1812, I took an opportunity of putting the question to Assessor Gahn, who had been the intimate friend of Scheele, and the pupil, and afterwards the friend of Bergman. He assured me that Scheele really was the discoverer of oxalic acid, and ascribed the omission of Bergman to inadvertence.