CHEMICALS FOR AGRICULTURE

June-July. 1962

Ewart

A.

An

try

IT

ancy

^WAS among ^A

^daythe^{of rain}sports^andlovers^expect-of oursoutherncommunity.

May

had

come

and dwindled past the halfway

mark

before it had brought such a day. But now,at8:00 a.m., the waters of oursmall riverwere spilling out of the banks and spreading slowly over the fieldsand woods.

Two

dozen of ^us had gathered at the edge of the bottomland and were watching the water closely.

The

rain had

become

a drizzle and a lazy fog wasdrifting up from the

muddy

water.

Suddenly there was a splash on the river side of the patch and a big tin

came

slicingthrough the surface of the water toward us. In a few

moments

there were other splashes and other fins. Soon the water

among

theweeds was in constant motion and the weeds trembledasfishcutrapid pathsthrough ihem.

The

wild horses of the riser had

come

out tograze.

The common name

for them is carp. It wasa local fisher-

man who

dubbed them "Wild Horses of theBackwater." "They

come

out in the backwater to graze in the weed patches and cornfields." he explained.

They

feed in droves, and

when

they

stampede,they're crazierthananywild horsethat ever galloped."

His explanation is good, and he's especially right about the stampeding.

Most

folks think of a carp as a lazy sort of fish

who

likes to loaf around near the bottom of a stream or lake.

And

thatdescription prettywellfitshim mostof the time. In fact,hespendsso

much

time near the bottom that he groovespathsinthesandor

mud. Any

waterhole infested with carp will have

many

such paths criss-crossing its bot- tom. Catfish also

make

paths on the bottom neartheir dens,but their paths arebroad and smoothincontrasttothe narrow,

more

deeply-grooved ones of the carp. Usually, carp can be found resting bellywise in one of their paths or gliding lazily along like

human

be- ingsout for an aimlessstroll.

But

when

it'sfeeding time,they

come

to life with

more

vigor than any fish I have ever met.

They

somersault like acrobats, wallow like hogs, and fight like a pack of hungry wolves. But it's

when

the river overflows that they be-

come

thewild horses of the backwater.

They

surge in droves through weed patches, corn fields, and thewoods.

That's

when we come

into the pic-

ture and create

some

of the craziest stampedes you ever saw. It's excellent sport and it helps to rid ourwaters of one of the worst enemies of good fish.

Personally. I

am

a fish eater, but only extreme hunger would cause

me

^to

tackle thebone-filled flesh of acarp.

And

goodfishwon'tlive

among

them

ifthere'sany other placeto go. In the first placecarpgobbleupthefood sup- ply and

make

a habit of raiding the nestsofotherfishand feastingontheir eggs.

Add

to that the fact that carp are evil-tempered and belligerent and will not tolerate the presence of other fish. I doubt ifany fresh-waterfish of like sizecandefeatacarpinbattle. His strength lies in his tail.

A

¹0-pound carp is capable of knocking thebreath out o\ a

man

with a single slap of

hii.tail.

So^there's

more

thanathrilltostam- pedingthewild horses of the backwater.

Added

to the thrill is the satisfying knowledgethat

we

are battling for bet- ter fishing inour smallriver.

But I'm sure the thrill was upper- mostinour minds onthat drizzly.

May

day as

we

watched the carp

swarm

into the

weed

patch.

When

they had (Continued on Page 42)

The National FUTl'RK

FARMER

•loltitllri/nnl

teams

ahitnt

an unusual engine

at<»'.»#".*

Tech Center

heat from the sun ^will mahe ^it run

Twista dial,flicka switch, adjust afew mirrors and off you go

—

^{powered by}

heat from the sun. Incredible?

Maybe

not. Scientists around the world are searching for ways to harness heat energyfromthe sun.

The

StirlingEngine,oranadaptation ofit.

may

verywellbe thepowerplant forthejob.

GM

engineershavealready proposedit as a satellite power plant, becauseallitneedstokeepgoingisheat.

The

Stirlingisan unusualenginethat's bothaheadofitstimeand

way

behind.

Itwasbuiltand patented in1816, but wasnever completelysuccessful.

GM

began a study of the Stirling Engine about 11 years ago.

A

recently unveiled model promises

many

indus- trialandmilitaryuses.

How

does it work? Energy from almost any fuel is used to heat the workinggasinside achamber.

The

syn- chronizedmotionoftwopistonsin this chamber converts the heat to driving power. Aslong as there's heat, there's power, since the gas is sealed in the

engine and used over and over again.

IstheStirlingEnginethepowerplant of the future?

Who

knows?

The

^im- portant thingis to keeptesting itand improving it. This is

GM's

responsi- bility;thisis

GM's

challenge.

iwvnvrttl 3 Motors

makes tilings better

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GM

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./<»/./(Ilri/ant.senior atIteilfitrilllioh.Diiii.it.

visited,the

Research Laboratories

tit

GM's

Teeli

Venter

tasee the

retnarhahle

Stiriinif

Engine*

An amateur

resettreher himself,^-itiliiiunit

himarahle mention

far hissunlitaf

ozone

as

a

hleaehiin/intentnttheHetrait Science/-'air.

Junc-.lul>. 1962