The Problem.- To determine occupations entered by Agricultural Education graduates of Virginia Polytechnic Institute from 1948 through 1958, their financial advancement, and relationship of undergraduate success to success, after graduation. Purposes.- To determine fields of employment, beginning salaries, number who have changed jobs, reasons for job changes, educational advancements, relationship of quality credit average and co-curricular activities to occupational choices and advancement, and curriculum changes graduates thought desirable. Method.- Study was based on student records and on objective questionnaire which was mailed to each of the 333 living individuals to secure additional data. Returns were received from 272 (81.7 percent) of the graduates. Findings.- The 236 Bachelor's degree graduates entered 24 different occupations immediately after graduation, but in 1958 they were employed in 50 different occupations. Beginning salaries for all occupations averaged $3,211, while the 1958 salaries averaged $5,235. Salaries averaged $3,076 for 144 beginning teachers of vocational agriculture. In 1958, 82 teachers of vocational agriculture received salaries averaging $4,643. One hundred and ninety (69.9 percent) graduates changed jobs one or more times since graduation. Better opportunity to advance and to obtain a higher salary were the major reasons for not teaching vocational agriculture and for leaving the profession. Less than 15.0 percent of the graduates earned advanced degrees. There was no definite relationship between quality credit averages or participation in co-curricular activities and fields of employment, but an apparent relationship existed between these factors and success and advancement. Six areas of increased course offerings were suggested. / Master of Science

The attitudes of Virginia explorers and colonists toward the land and its resources and how these attitudes informed their treatment of them was investigated. The effect of the expectation that Virginia was a newly discovered Garden of Eden on plant cultivation was explored, in terms of agriculture and domestic utilitarian and pleasure gardens. It was determined that the expectation of an Eden in Virginia resulted in the exploitation of Virginia's resources and the creation of formal gardens as a symbol of control over the land. Garden designs and plants used during specific periods in Virginia history were described. In Part II of this thesis, this information was used to determine historical gardens for Airfield Conference Center in Sussex County, Virginia. / Master of Science

All real property in Virginia, including mineral land, improvements thereon, and minerals, is reserved for localities as a source of tax revenue. The ad valorem taxation of mineral property has traditionally been a responsibility of county commissioners of the revenue. Because of the technical nature of mineral property assessment and the lack of expert assistance available to commissioners of the revenue, there arises a question as to the equity with which mineral property is taxed. Since coal is Virginia's most extensive mineral resource, the study was confined to the ad valorem taxation of coal property. It was found that often economic factors such as thickness of the seem, quality of the coal, and location of the deposit are not considered by commissioners of the revenue in evaluating coal property. Investigations made in the large coal-producing counties revealed wide variations in assessment procedures, involving heavy reliance on information obtained from the owners of coal deposits. This indicates the probable existence of inequalities in the assessment of mineral property. A comparison of assessed valuation and the taxes levied thereon with the value of mineral production further indicates the existence of inequalities. It was found that the taxes levied on all mineral property, and the taxes levied on mineral property under development only, amounted to 0.L and 0.1 percent, respectively, of the value of mineral production. Also indicated, but not conclusively, was a lower ratio of assessed to actual value for coal property than for ordinary real property. A majority of the commissioners of the revenue interviewed felt that improvements needed to be made in assessment procedures in order to bring about a more equitable ad valorem taxation of mineral property. Assistance similar to that provided counties in the assessment of ordinary real property by the State Department of Taxation would seem a logical solution to the problem of attaining accurate mineral property assessment data. Such assistance might be properly provided by the Virginia Geological Survey. The provision of assistance in determining the extent and value of mineral property would overcome the basic difficulty associated with the ad valorem taxation of such property. / Master of Science

no abstract provided by author / Master of Science

Forms exemplifying the emergence of a new cultural attitude considered to reflect modern technological man are being generated in many disciplines. The efforts of disciplines embracing the new attitude provide opportunities to grasp the nature of this reorientation of man's position within his world, and further facilitate the adaptation of this attitude to other disciplines such as architecture. Until recently the theoretical basis for architecture was founded upon an extension of humanist philosophies. There has been an attempt to establish a new theoretical basis breaking with the ethical positivism assumed inherent in architectural expression. The new attitude provides such an alternative. Drama is one of the disciplines focusing this new attitude upon society, disclosing the philosophy and character via theatrical expression. Expressing a change in its theoretical basis, the forms of modern theater contrast with those. characteristic of theatrical expression prior to the twentieth century. Drama focuses upon the image of man in society, the philosophies, the conflicts and frustrations paramount to modern man. Modern theater authenticates the voice of modern man through theatrical forms. The criteria for selection of the dramatic arts was twofold, theater increases man's consciousness of his nature and to glean the spirit of the new attitude, injecting it into the design of the theater complex. / Master of Architecture

Master of Science

In order to determine the effectiveness of vocational agriculture in Virginia from 1918 to 1932, and to further assist the teachers in this follow-up work, this study was made with the following objectives in mind: 1. To determine the occupational status of former students of vocational agriculture in Virginia. 2. To determine trends in occupational selection and the relation of industrial and agricultural economic conditions to occupational selection. 3. To evaluate some of the influences on occupational selection, such as amount of vocational agriculture; type of agriculture of the community; efficiency of the Agriculture Department, and certain census data regarding counties. This study includes data from 148 white and 25 negro schools, and also includes follow-up records from 7,784 white and 1,583 negro ex-students of vocational agriculture in Virginia from 1918 to 1932. / Master of Science

Virginia is a net deficit state in corn and soybeans. The purpose of this study is to determine when during the crop year this deficit occurs, the relationship among production, consumption, and storage to determine if storage is a limiting factor, and why Virginia does not increase its production of these grains to meet the needs of its livestock poultry industries. Three sectors are considered in the study. These are the livestock and poultry industries which are the consumers of corn and soybeans, the corn and soybean production sector, and the storage sector. Trends in livestock and poultry show that from the 1965-1969 period to the 1975-1979 period there have been increases in the number of animals consuming feed and, in most cases, decreases in per head consumption of feed. Changes in production show increases in both acreage harvested as well as yields per acre over the same period. The result of these changes is a decrease in the corn deficit and relatively little change in the soybean deficit. Storage capacity has also been increased. On a state-wide basis, storage is adequate to meet the needs of the producers; whereas, in some regions it proves restrictive. A study of the movement of corn and soybeans indicates the costs of shipping these grains within the state are, for the most part, more expensive than importing the needed quantities from the Mid-West. / Master of Science

The purpose of this study was to analyze loan penetration for agricultural institutional lenders in a 10 county area of Virginia and to generate specific recommendations to the Roanoke Association of the Farm Credit Banks of Baltimore. Alleghany-Bedford-Botetourt-Craig-Franklin-Halifax-Henry-Patrick-Pittsylvania-Roanoke County area of Virginia. This area had a very diversified commodity mix, but the main enterprises included dairy, tobacco, and beef. The case study approach was used to assemble information on the agricultural lenders in the study area rather than a statistically valid random sample. Forty-two agricultural lenders were surveyed for a response representing 86 percent of the total debt outstanding. While the Farm Credit Service was the largest agricultural lender in Virginia and the United States, Farmers Home Administration was the largest agricultural lender in the study area. Over $181 million of agricultural debt was outstanding as of December 31, 1980 in the study area. Over 60 percent was farm mortgage debt. Almost 2/3 of total farm debt outstanding was in Franklin, Halifax, and Pittsylvania Counties. The major portion of debt outstanding was to dairy, tobacco, and beef producers. In contrast to FmHA and commercial banks, Farm Credit served older borrowers who had more equity. The average Farm Credit borrower had a lower gross farm income than FmHA borrowers. Farm Credit serves a great deal of parttime farmers, particularly beef producers concentrated in the area of the main offices. It was concluded that the Roanoke Farm Credit Association should be more aggressive. Recommendations to improve Farm Credit's market penetration were developed under three different leadings. Farm Credit should develop a young farmer program. This would enable them to obtain some of the better FmHA borrowers. The marketing programs of Farm Credit need to be emphasized and other marketing services should be offered. The services suggested included tax, estate and financial planning. Farm Credit's market penetration was expected to increase in the future. Cutbacks in FmHA lending and uncertainty and changes for many commercial banks will contribute to this increase. / Master of Science

One hundred and twenty-six stands were sampled using a stratified random design in a 6880 hectare Appalachian Oak Forest in southwest Virginia. The objective was to determine the present distribution patterns of tree species and community types and to relate their occurrence to site factors. Of the 52 tree species recorded, the dominants in order of decreasing importance were Acer rubrum, Quercus rubra, Liriodendron tulipifera, Quercus prinus, Acer saccharum and Quercus coccinea. Most site factors of importance, including elevation, lithology, landform, slope position, steepness, exposure, and soil depth appeared to influence the distribution of individual species and community types through their effect on local moisture and temperature conditions. Different site factors best explained the distribution of various species in a multiple regression analysis, thus suggesting that these species are distributed independently of each other. Stand history and interaction between site factors appeared to confound the species-site relationships examined and may explain the large portion of variation unaccounted for by the regressions. Stands were placed in one of six community types with the aid of polar ordination. Three community types were dominated by oak and showed considerable intergradation of species and site preferences. The dominant oaks shifted from Quercus rubra to Quercus prinus to Quercus coccinea on progressively drier sites. Sugar maple-mixed hardwoods, Yellow-poplar, and Hemlock community types were more discrete when compared to the oak community types. Stands dominated by Acer saccharum or Tsuga canadensis occurred mostly in relatively cool, moist conditions at mid to upper elevations, while most stands dominated by Liriodendron tulipifera were in moist locations at lower elevations. Results indicate that shifts in the composition of forest stands when compared to presettlement forests may be attributed to selective logging practices and to the demise of American chestnut. / Master of Science