ABSTRACT
The Analysis of organic substances has for its object, to determine the nature and quantity of the elements which compose them; and is one of the most important departments of analytical chemistry. The method employed by the earlier chemists to obtain a knowledge of the chemical composition of organic bodies had not the smallest resemblance to the organic analysis of the present day. The simplest method of ascertaining the component parts of an organic compound, would seem to be, to endeavour to obtain its elements in a separate form; but it is obvious that, if people can obtain, instead of the elements in the free state, compounds, of known composition, of those elements with others, they can determine their quantity with equal accuracy. This chapter describes the instruments and processes which are at present employed by the majority of chemists for organic analysis; and prefixes some general remarks on the operations which occur in such analyses.
