﻿ABSORPTION OF HYDROCYANIC ACID. 3 



in practice. Schmidt probably did not get as high a concent mi ion 

 as this, but it must have been very high. This idea is strengthened 

 by the fact that he reports marked physical effects on liis fruits. 

 Some of his results are shown in Table 1. 



Table 1. — Hydrocyanic acid on fumigated fruits (Schmidt). 



Fruit. 



Length 



Of lilrie 



fumi- 

 gated. 



Hydrocyanic ttcld 

 present. 



After i 



hour. 



After IS 

 hour . 



Peaches 



Hour*. 

 2 



4 



h 



20 



20"' 

 2\ 

 20 



Per cent. 

 0. 33 



.00 

 .01 



.03 

 .02 



.02 

 .01 

 .10 

 .,003 



.1)7 



Per cent. 



Do 





Plums 



II H, 



Do 





Pears. 





Do 







.002 



Do 







Do 









i 24 hours. 



* 5 days. 



3 14 days. 



Schmidt found that peaches which had been fumigated for IS 

 hours gave off enough hydrocyanic acid to kill mice which were put 

 in a jar with the fruit. He concludes that all fruits take up gaseous 

 hydrocyanic acid and that certain fruits, for example peaches, take 

 up the gas from even a very dilute atmosphere of it, so that it is pos- 

 sible that eating such fruit may cause some injury to health. 



Quaintance (18) believes that very little, if any, gas is taken up 

 by apples during fumigation with hydrocyanic acid. He and his 

 associates have eaten freely of fumigated fruit, sometimes within 

 30 minutes of its removal from the fumigation box. These apples, 

 of course, were first wiped. 



Roberts (19) states that hydrocyanic acid fumigation does not 

 injure any ordinary article of cargo. 



Howard and Popenoe (12), in describing the method of fumigation 

 against household insects, say "Liquids or moist foods, as milk, 

 meat, or other larder supplies that are not dry and might absorb the 

 gas, should be removed from the house." The inference is that other 

 Foods will not absorb enough of the fumigant to be dangerous. Their 

 statement is apparently not based upon experimental evidence. 



Bail and Cancik (3) say that fluids and moist foods should not be 

 left in rooms which are being fumigated. They state that Heymons 

 (11) found that fumigated flour was unchanged and nonpoisonous 

 and that they found the same to be true for bran. After fumigating a 

 food warehouse it is recommended that the food shall be used only 

 after airing and that grain be shoveled over several times. 



Bail (2) reports that Herr Hofrat v. Zeyneck found that after 

 fumigation with 1 per cent by volume of hydrocyanic acid gas (time 

 not stated) raw meat (minced) contained 186 parts of hydrocyanic 

 acid per million, even after airing for 10 hours, moist vegetables con- 

 tained 90 parts per million after airing for 2 days, fine flour contained 

 45 parts per million after 10 hours, and bran contained 30 parts per 

 million. He recommends that all foods, whether wet or dry, be 

 removed before fumigation. 



