CALIFORNIA CITRUS CULTURE. 



75 



ACID GENERATORS. 



Acid generators are earthenware pots usually made in gallon, two- 

 gallon and three-gallon sizes and with or without lids (Fig. 52). The 

 lid has long been recognized as a valuable adjunct to a generator by 

 throwing the gas outward, thus preventing burnings directly above the 

 generator. It also prevents the sputtering over of the acid due to the 

 violent chemical reaction when the cyanide is added. So far there 

 appears to be no lid manufactured which is entirely satisfactory, 

 though nearly all fumi gators prefer those on the market to the open 

 generator. A suitable lid should be light and hinged so as to admit of 

 easy emptying. 



FIG. 51. A specially constructed chemical wagon. (Photo by Fawcett. ) 



The two-gallon generator is more generally used because it more 

 nearly meets the requirements of large and small doses. Care should 

 be exercised not to fill a single pot more than one third full of acid and 

 water before the cyanide is added as the contents may boil over and 

 much of it be wasted. For large doses use two or more generators to a 

 tree. To prevent unnecessary sputtering, especially when open genera- 

 tors are used, small cheap paper bags are excellent to contain the cyanide 

 when it is dropped into the acid. 



