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 cornfield plant in the south of Europe, and is grown in gardens on account of its brilliant purple flowers. 

VERA, AUGUSTO (1813–1885), Italian philosopher, was born at Amelia in the province of Perugia on the 4th of May 1813. He was educated in Rome and Paris, and, after teaching classics for some years in Geneva, held chairs of philosophy in various colleges in France, and subsequently was professor in Strassburg and in Paris. He left Paris after the coup d’état of 1851 and spent nine years in England. Attaching himself with enthusiasm to Hegel’s system, Vera (who wrote fluently both in French and in English as well as in Italian) became widely influential in spreading a knowledge of the Hegelian doctrine, and became the chief representative of Italian Hegelianism. Without any marked originality, his writings are distinguished by lucidity of exposition and genuine philosophic spirit. In 1860 Vera returned to Italy, where he was made professor of philosophy in the royal academy of Milan. In the following year he was transferred to Naples as professor of philosophy in the university there. His Prolusioni alla Storia della Filosofia and Lezioni sulla Filosofia della Storia were connected with his professorial work, which was specially devoted to the history of philosophy and the philosophy of history. He held this post till his death, which took place at Naples on the 13th of July 1885.

 VERA CRUZ (officially ), a Gulf Coast state of Mexico, bounded N. by Tamaulipas, W. by San Luis Potosi, Hidalgo, Puebla and Oaxaca, and S.E. by Chiapas and Tabasco. Pop. (1900) 981,030. It is about 50 m. wide, extending along the coast, N.W. to S.E., for a distance of 435 m., with an area of 29,201 sq. m. It was the seat of an ancient Indian civilization antedating the Aztecs and is filled with remarkable and interesting ruins; it is now one of the richest states of the republic. It consists of a low, sandy coastal zone, much broken with tidewater streams and lagoons, behind which the land rises gradually to the base of the sierras and then in rich valleys and wooded slopes to their summits on the eastern margin of the great Mexican plateau, from which rise the majestic summits of Orizaba and Cofre de Perote. The climate is hot, humid and malarial, except on the higher elevations; the rainfall is heavy, and the tropical vegetation is so dense that it is practically impossible to clear it away. At Coatzacoalcos the annual precipitation ranges from 125 to 140 in., but it steadily decreases towards the N. On the higher slopes of the sierras prehistoric terraces are found, evidently constructed to prevent the washing away of the soil by these heavy rains. More than forty rivers cross the state from the sierras to the coast, the following being navigable on their lower courses—Coatzacoalcos, San Juan, Tonto, Papaloapam, Tuxpam and Casones. Several of the lagoons on the coast are also navigable, that of Tamiahua on the northern coast, about 100 m. long, being connected with the port of Tampico by inland channels. There are several ports on the coast—Coatzacoalcos, Alvarado, Vera Cruz, Nautla, Tecolutla and Tuxpam. The products of the state are chiefly agricultural—cotton, sugar, rum, tobacco, coffee, cacao, vanilla, maize, beans and fruit. Cattle-raising is followed in some districts, cattle and hides being among the exports. Among the forest products are rubber, cabinet woods, dye-woods, broom-root, chicle, jalap and orchids. Vera Cruz is one of the largest producers of sugar and rum in Mexico. There are a number of cotton factories (one of the largest in Mexico being at Orizaba), chiefly devoted to the making of coarse cloth for the lower classes. Tobacco factories are also numerous. Other manufactures include paper, chocolate, soap and matches. There are four lines of railway converging at Vera Cruz, two of which cross the state by different routes to converge again at Mexico city. Another, the Tehuantepec National railway, crosses in the south, and is connected with Vera Cruz (city) by the Vera Cruz & Pacific line, which traverses the state in a south-easterly direction. The capital is Jalapa, and its principal towns are Vera Cruz, Orizaba, Cordova and Coatzacoalcos.

 VERA CRUZ, a city and seaport of Mexico, in the state of Vera Cruz, on a slight indentation of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, in 19° 11′ 50″ N., 96° 20′ W., slightly sheltered by some small islands and reefs. Pop. (1900) 29,164. Vera Cruz is the most important port of the republic. It is 263 m. by rail E. of the city of Mexico, with which it is connected by two lines of railway. It is built on a flat, sandy, barren beach, only a few feet above sea-level. The harbour is confined to a comparatively narrow channel inside a line of reefs and small islands, which is exposed to the full force of northern storms. New port works were completed towards the end of the 19th century, which, by means of breakwaters, afford complete protection. In 1905 the four railway companies having terminal stations in Vera Cruz united in the organization of a joint terminal association, with union station, tracks, warehouses, quays, cranes, &c.

Vera Cruz dates from 1520, soon after the first landing there of Cortés. This settlement was called Villa Rica de Vera Cruz, but was soon after moved to the harbour of Bernal, in 1525 to a point now called Old Vera Cruz, and in 1599 to its present site. It was pillaged by privateers in 1653 and 1712, and this led to the erection of the celebrated fort of San Juan de Ulúa, or Ulloa, on one of the reefs in front of the city. In 1838 it was captured by the French, in 1847 (March 29) by an American army under General Winfield Scott, who made Vera Cruz a base for his march upon the city of Mexico, and in 1861 by the French.

 VERANDAH, or, a roofed gallery or portico attached to the outside of a dwelling-house or other building, usually open at the sides or partially covered by lattice-work or glass or other screens. The roofing is slanting and supported by pillars; a light rail or balustrade often surrounds it. The word in English is comparatively modern, having only been included by Todd in his edition of Johnson’s Dictionary in 1827. But it was known earlier in India, and the occurrence of the word in modern Hindustani (varanda) and Malayan (baranda) has led some etymologists to connect the word with the Persian barāmadan, to climb. It is, however, certainly of European origin, and was taken to the East by the early Portuguese navigators. It is to be found as early as the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th in Spanish and Portuguese (so Minsheu, “varanda, railes to leane the brest on”), and apparently is to be referred to Lat. vara, a forked pole or rod.

 VERATRUM. The Greek physicians were acquainted with a poisonous herb which they called white hellebore, and which has been supposed to represent the Veratrum album of modern botanists. Be this as it may, in modern times the name has been applied to a genus of herbaceous plants belonging to the natural order Liliaceae. Veratrum is a tall-growing herb, having a fibrous root-stock, an erect stem, with numerous broad, plicated leaves placed alternately, and terminal, much-branched clusters of greenish or purplish polygamous flowers. Each perfect flower consists of six regular petals, as many stamens, whose anthers open outwardly, and a three-celled superior ovary which ripens into a three-celled, many-seeded capsule. The genus comprises about nine species, natives of the temperate 