The effects of the landlocked alewife introduction on the white bass and walleye populations were evaluated. Only white bass in age classes III and IV clearly exhibited an increase in total length following the introduction of landlocked alewives. Age and growth analysis for walleye, white bass, and alewives are given. Condition factors for walleye and white bass are reported by sex, month, and twenty millimeter total length intervals. Alewives were found in the stomach contents of eight species of piscivorous fishes. The vertical distributions by season of alewives, channel catfish, white crappie, walleye, and white bass are given. Each of the predator fishes seem to be found in close proximity to the alewife. Changes in the fish fauna of Claytor Lake between 1950 and 1971 are discussed. Based on the two rotenone samples taken during this study, the standing crop of fishes in Claytor Lake is below that of most other reservoirs. / Master of Science

James Alexander was born on August 21, 1832. Raised in Augusta County, Virginia, he was an active youth. In 1848, he entered the Virginia Military Institute. Though a fine student, in 1852, he was dismissed for his poor conduct in the class of Major Thomas J. Jackson. In the years before the Civil War, Walker worked as an engineer, teacher and lawyer. Settling in New Bern in southwest Virginia’s Pulaski County, Walker became a captain of the “Pulaski Guard.” During the war, Walker rose from captain of Company C of the 4th Virginia, to lieutenant colonel of the 4th, to colonel of the 13th Virginia and finally to brigadier general and last commander of the famed Stonewall Brigade. After the war, Walker made his fortune through his legal practice and land investments in Pulaski and Wythe counties. He was a success in politics, he was twice a member of Virginia’s House of Delegates, a lieutenant governor of Virginia and a member of the Fifty-Fourth and Fifty-Fifth Congresses. On October 22, 1901, he died as a man who made his mark on Virginia history. / Master of Arts

A numerical solution technique was developed to solve the one-dimensional, partial differential equations of unsteady flow for an upstream solution. The x-t, distance-time, plane was replaced by a rectangular grid of points at which the values of the variables, discharge and depth, were computed using an implicit, finite difference scheme. A discharge hydrograph and rating curve supplied the initial values of discharge and depth along the downstream column of grid points. Boundary values of discharge were known along the top row and bottom row of grid points from steady flow conditions. The solution proceeded from column to column in the negative x direction yielding an upstream discharge hydrograph as the final solution. The computer model was successfully tested utilizing a reach of the James River, Virginia. The upstream hydrograph was first routed in the downstream direction using an implicit solution procedure already available. The downstream hydrograph resulting as a solution was used as input to the reverse flood routing model. The upstream solution as computed by the model showed near perfect agreement with the actual upstream hydrograph. / M.S.

John Johns Trigg of Bedford County, Virginia, was a veteran of the American Revolutionary War. As a Captain, he fought and witnessed the surrender of Cornwallis' army at Yorktown. From his days as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, 1784-1792, and of the Virginia Convention of 1788, Trigg consistently opposed any resolution which he believed might stifle the growth of his own state. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1797 and served in the next three succeeding congresses until his death in 1804. Trigg was never a prominent figure in his own right, but he did oppose any attempts to centralize power. During his time in Congress, his importance lay in his unswerving loyalty to the Republican party. This was particularly true during the dark days of the Alien and Sedition Acts when men like Trigg were sorely needed in congress to temper, since unable to smother, the fire of the Federalists. During President Jefferson's first term in office, 1801-1805, John Trigg could be described as a "regular republican." He voted on all issues as a stanch supporter of the new Republican administration. When time came to undo the Federalist's legislation which Adams had passed, he was again to be counted on as a follower of the Republican program. / Master of Arts

Squirrel teeth were decalcified in a modified formic acid-sodium citrate solution and sectioned longitudinally with a razor blade. The sections were stained with Harris' hematoxylin and eosin and viewed under a microscope using reflected light. Tooth development was used for separating spring and summer litters, while cementum annuli were used for placing the individuals into year classes. Magnifications of lOOX - 200X were best for aging by cementum annuli. It was found that spring and summer litters could be separated as accurately with tooth development and cementum annuli as with eye lens weights. Tooth sectioning had the added advantage of being able to separate the adults into year classes. Testing with formalin preserved known-age teeth showed that the razor section method is accurate for aging adult squirrels. Dry stored teeth are more difficult to age with accuracy, apparently due to the shrinkage of the cementum. / Master of Science

Fall-winter and spring-summer fertilizations with chelated iron and nitrogen were evaluated on the growth and physiology of creeping bentgrass. Iron, when applied alone, did not provide a satisfactory turf color during the winter and early spring. However, spring root growth was generally increased with iron while carbohydrates remained high, but top growth was low when compared to treatments receiving nitrogen. When applied alone in the late spring, iron improved turf color only slightly and top growth was not stimulated. Fall and winter applications of nitrogen alone increased spring appearance and root development, but recovery from·a five-week desiccation period and leaf carbohydrates were generally reduced with each increment applied. Late spring applications of nitrogen alone improved turf appearance and top growth; however, root growth sampled in July was lowest for all spring treatments. Turf appearance, chlorophyll content, spring top growth, and recovery from desiccation were enhanced by frequent fall and winter applications of nitrogen plus iron without decreasing root growth or exhausting carbohydrates. Iron, when applied in combination with nitrogen in late spring, gave the best appearance of all treatments while reducing top growth slightly. This response was believed to be caused by a beneficial synergistic effect between the two nutrients. Subsequently, root development was also increased without further depletion of carbohydrates. It was suggested that with improved sampling technique, iron in conjunction with nitrogen summer fertilization would improve antidesiccation of bentgrass during high temperatures. Results obtained indicate that iron programmed with nitrogen fertilization should improve the appearance and vigor of bentgrass turf. / Master of Science

The 1971 white-tailed deer population on the Radford Army Ammunition Plant, Dublin, Virginia, was estimated at 426. There were 200 does, 110 bucks, and 116 fawns. Bucks were seen at about the same rate throughout the summer and fall. Since does and fawns are very seclusive in July, bucks were seen at the highest rate of any class during that month. In August, when fawns were two months old, both does and fawns became more active and does were seen at a higher rate than bucks throughout the remainder of the study. Fawns were never seen at as high a rate as does, but approached this rate in December. Doe-fawn pairs were observed most frequently in November and December because by this time fawns were large and strong. Single bucks were most common in November due to the rut and single does in July due to the fawning season. Since neither intensive searching, time of day, nor weather variables affected the ratios of deer observed, the only option left available to the counter was to conduct counts during the months when counts were most representative of the sex ratio and various age classes. The best month for making a sex-ratio count was November. The best combination of months for change in ratio estimation of population size was found to be September and December or October and December. Fawn-doe counts are best made in December. / Master of Science

Polypropylene fibers were spun from solutions of different polymer contents undergoing phase separation. The range of concentrations used was 25 to 60 wt. % polypropylene. The solvent used was naphthalene. After the naphthalene was extracted from the fibers using diethyl ether the fiber's properties were measured. Deniers and diameters of the fibers varied inversely with the spinning draw ratio. The fibers had void fractions ranging from 0.20 to 0.70. The porosity of the fibers was inversely proportional to the polymer contents of the spinning solution. Tenacities and moduli ranging from 1.5 to 8.5 and from 6 to 17 grams per denier, respectively, were measured after the fibers were cold drawn 4/1. These values varied directly with spinning draw ratio. Percent elongation at break of fibers spun from solutions of polymer contents greater than 35 wt. % polypropylene varied inversely with draw ratio. Fibers spun from solutions of less are 35 polymer contents showed elongations at break which varied directly with draw ratio for draw ratios of less than about 1500. For higher draw ratios and inverse relationships were observed. The fibers exhibited good hand bulk, and self-coiling and crimping characteristics. / Master of Science

The effect of nitrogen content on the susceptibilities of type 310 and 20Cr-20Ni stainless steels to stress-corrosion cracking were studied by exposing the U-bend specimens of the alloys containing various nitrogen levels to magnesium chloride solutions boiling at 154°C. It was found that the increase in nitrogen levels up to 0.161 wt.% did not induce cracking in type 20Cr-20Ni alloys even after long exposure times. At the same time, increase in nitrogen content decreased the crack initiation time in type 310 stainless steel and increased the depth of penetration. Furthermore, the rate of propagation of the stress-corrosion cracks in the U-bend stainless steel specimens of type 310 decreased with increase in exposure time. / Master of Science

In order to reduce the stress concentration around a hole in a plate, new, “analogue” reinforcements instead of reinforcing rings were used in this investigation. In two of these specimens, reinforcements with different volume fractions were arranged to coincide with the stress trajectories for an infinite plate with a hole under uniaxial tension, Two other specimens contained straight rectangular-grid type reinforcements with different volume fractions. These 0.005 in. thick brass reinforcements were made by using a photofabrication method. Specimens were then prepared by sandwiching these reinforcements between two epoxy resin plates. Plane specimens, i.e., without reinforcement, were also made of the same epoxy resin for comparison. The stress concentrations at the edge of the hole under uniaxial tension were determined by photoelastic techniques. The measured stress concentration factors were compared with well known values for an infinite isotropic, homogeneous plate containing a hole. Results were also compared with published data on [90/0/90/0̅]_s 7-ply laminate composite plates, and on plates strengthened with reinforcing rings. A definite reduction in stress concentration was observed on specimens containing analogue reinforcement. / Master of Science