Page:Biographies of Scientific Men.djvu/137

 It was Liebig who actually discovered bromine from the liquor of the salt works. He saturated the liquor with chlorine, and by distillation obtained a quantity of a dark red liquid. He thought it was the chloride of iodine, but did not examine it. It was on the shelf in his laboratory, and there it remained for several months. In 1826, Balard, of Montpellier, discovered bromine, and in Liebig's laboratory this very same bromine was labelled "liquid chloride of iodine." He was only twenty-three when the incident occurred, but he resolved in future never to take anything for granted, or to accept theories which were not well supported by trustworthy experiments.

Liebig was a man of untiring labour, always at work, early and late, and his discoveries and philosophy have proved of the highest importance to mankind. His mind was open to correction; he once said that "there is no harm in a man committing mistakes, but great harm indeed in his committing none, for he is sure not to have worked."

Liebig's books on Animal Chemistry (1842), Researches on the Chemistry of Food (1847), The Natural Laws of Husbandry (1862), etc., have been translated into most of the languages of Europe.

Liebig often visited England, and attended several meetings of the British Association. In 1837 he was requested by the Association to draw up a report on the