Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 24.djvu/188

Rh 168 V E R V E R 337,257 bushels, averaging 16 2S bushels per acre ; oats, 3,742,282 bushels, averaging 37 6 bushels per acre ; Indian corn, 2,014,271 ; potatoes, 4,438,172 bushels; hay, 1,051,183 tons. The wool clip was 2,551,113 Ib ; and there were 217,033 cows, producing 25,245,826 It) of butter (12,137,980 Ib in 1850) and 6,121,130 Ib of cheese (8,720,834 in 1850). The value of orchard products amounted to 640,942. Of maple sugar Vermont produces more than any other State, in 1880 11,261,077 ft, or 30 8 per cent, of the whole pro duction of the United States, besides 128,091 gallons of molasses. In 1880 the State possessed 75,215 horses, 283 mules and asses, 18,868 working oxen and 167,204 other cattle (exclusive of milch cows), 439,870 sheep, and 76,384 pigs. Much attention is given to the raising of improved stock. The rearing of fine breeds of sheep for exportation is a lucrative business. Lake Champlain abounds in fish of various kinds. Great pains have been taken of late years to stock the numerous ponds and streams of the State with salmon, trout, carp, and bass. Both fish and game are protected by stringent laws, and to some extent by special police supervision. In 1880 there were 2874 manufacturing and mechanical establish ments, the average number of operatives 17,540, and the value pro duced in 1879 was $31,354,366. Eight firms manufactured cotton, 44 woollen goods, 227 flour and grist-mill products, 56 furniture, 77 leather, 95 tin-ware, copper-ware, &c., 35 agricultural tools, and 688 lumber. The State rates as nineteenth in value ($3,258,816) of lumber products, while Burlington ranks third in importance among the lumber markets of the United States. Eighteen marble ([Harries produced a value of $1,340,050 ; there are also granite and slate quarries, 61 quarries in all, with a total production in 1879 of $1,752,333. Burlington is the only port of entry. The State has 9 steam vessels aggregating 2380 tons, 12 sailing vessels, and 14 unrigged vessels, the total tonnage being 4594. The imports for the year ending 31st December 1887 were $5,959,813 and the exports 1,433,564 ; the value of the pine, spruce, and hemlock lumber im ported was $1,084,599. Most of this foreign trade is carried on with Canada. Railroad construction was begun in 1846, and by December 1849 two lines were completed from the Connecticut river to Burlington. In 1853 the working mileage had risen to 493 miles, and in 1886 it was 946 miles, mainly of trunk lines. A State board of three commissioners, appointed by the governor and senate, exercises general supervision. Bills of credit were issued as early as 1781, and were all faithfully redeemed. The first State bank was chartered in 1806, but closed an unsuccessful career in 1814. In 1818 banks were established at Windsor and Burlington. In 1841 there were 17 incorporated banking institutions, with a capital of $1,735,000. In October 1887 there were 49 national banks, with an aggregate capital of $7,566,000, a surplus fund of $1,571,864, and $668,329 undivided profits. The circulation was $3,478,100, secured by bonds to the amount of $3,891,000. The loans and discounts amounted to $12,879,765, and the individual deposits to $6,627,090. In 1860 there were 12 institutions for savings, with deposits to the amount of $1,111,532. In June 1887 there were 28 savings banks and trust companies, with $15,587, 051 to the credit of 53,810 depositors, and a surplus of $776, 113. Deposits pay a state tax of T per cent. The State proper has no debt. The Congregationalists have 197 churches, 186 ministers, 20,271 members, 22,035 pupils in Sunday schools, and 13,748 families belonging to the congregations. The Baptists have 105 churches, 111 ministers, 8623 members, 8922 pupils in Sunday schools. The Methodists have 192 churches, 161 ministers, 16,067 members, 18,830 children in Sunday schools. The Episcopalians report 36 ministers in charge of 52 parishes, with 3926 communicants ; num ber of families, 1789. The Free Baptists and Christians together have 60 churches and 4000 members ; the Adventists 35 churches with 1750 members. The Roman Catholics have 39 priests in charge of 79 churches and number about 25,000. Lands were set apart for the support of schools by the proprietors of townships as early as 1761. Legislative provision for education dates from 1782. The original educational system of the State contemplated primary schools in every township, a grammar or high school in each county, and one university. Towns were authorized to subdivide into districts of convenient size, each with power to choose its own officers, levy taxes, and maintain a school. In 1870 the towns were authorized to substitute the town for the district system, but in 1886 only one in nine had made the exchange. In 1886 there were 2557 public schools of all grades, with 71,667 pupils, besides 7247 in private schools. In 1880 the number of persons above ten years unable to read was 12,993, or 4 9 per cent., the population between 5 and 20 being 99,463. The total revenue for school purposes in 1886 was $621,370. This revenue is derived partly from funds held by the State, but chiefly from town and district taxes. Facilities for advanced instruction are offered by 39 public high schools and 25 incorporated academies. The State has 3 normal schools, founded in 1866. Since 1874 State supervision is exercised through a superintendent elected by the general assem bly. The State university at Burlington, chartered in 1791, was inaugurated in 1800 ; it provides instruction in arts, engineering, chemistry, agriculture, and medicine, with a teaching staff of 15 in the academic and 26 in the medical faculty ; in 1887 there were 189 students in medicine, 148 in arts and sciences, and in all depart ments 487. The library contains 35,300 volumes. Middlebury College (Congregational), chartered in 1800, has a teaching staff of 9 with 63 students, and a library of 16,000 vols. Norwich univer sity (Episcopalian) at Northfield is organized as a military school ; there are 10 instructors and 56 students. The State library contains 18,600 vols., the free public library of Burlington 18,000 vols., that of St Johusbury 12,000, and that of Lunenburg (free but not public) 14,000. In all 75 libraries were reported in 1880, 42 having over 1000 vols. each. The governor and chief executive officers are elected by direct Adminis- vote of the male citizens twenty-one years old and upwards who tration. have resided within the State for one whole year preceding the election. The general assembly, or legislative body, is composed of a senate of 30 members apportioned among the 14 counties accord ing to population, and a house of representatives consisting of one member from each organized township (244). The sessions of the legislature have been biennial since 1870. The State election occurs in September in the even years. The judiciary is elective through out, the chief justice and 6 assistant justices of the supreme court being chosen by the senate and house in joint assembly. The term of service is usually a long one, by virtue of repeated re-elections. The assistant judges of county courts are chosen by the freemen of the counties, and justices of the peace by the several towns. The county courts hold two terms annually, a justice of the supreme court presiding. A general session of the supreme court is held at the capital in October or November. Probate courts are held in each county, six of the counties being divided each into two probate districts. The State is represented in the Federal Government by two senators and two representatives, and has four votes in the electoral college. Since 1852 the policy of the State in regard to intoxicating liquors has been that of prohibition. History. Vermont first became known to Europeans in 1609, History, when Champlain explored the lake since known by his name. During the next century the lake and its borders were a thorough fare for various military expeditions in the Indian and colonial wars, and several points along the lake were occupied, mainly as military posts, by both French and English ; but the first perma nent settlement was made in 1724 at Fort Dummer in the limits of Brattleboro. In 1760 there were not more than 300 inhabitants, scattered along the Connecticut river within 50 miles of the south ern border. Both New Hampshire and New York claimed juris diction over the territory under royal grants (see vol. xvii. p. 393). By 1763 New Hampshire had chartered 138 townships west of the Connecticut, and between 1765 and 1776 New York had issued grants of land, covering in all 2,418,700 acres, often embracing the same territory as the New Hampshire charters. The claims of New York were always stoutly, and sometimes forcibly, resisted by the great majority of the settlers. In 1776 the Vermonters sought admission to the provincial Congress, but through the influence of New York were refused. In January 1777 they proclaimed their independence, framed a State constitution, and again applied for a place in the confederacy. Congress hesitated as before. In 1780 British generals made overtures to the little republic, but with no result beyond a diplomatic intercourse continued until 1783, so managed by the envoys of Vermont as to gain time and save the State from invasion. In 1782 they knocked at the doors of Con gress again without avail. By July 1789 New York was willing to waive its pretensions, and Vermont was admitted as the fourteenth State in March 1791. In May 1775 the &quot;Green Mountain boys&quot; under Ethan Allan and Seth Warner had captured Ticonderoga and Crown Point. The battle of Bennington in August 1777 was won by the combined forces of Vermont and New Hampshire. During the whole struggle the State, though unrecognized, contributed its full share of men and means. In the war of 1812-14 Vermont is credited with 5236 soldiers in regular service, exclusive of 2500 volunteers who were under arms at Plattsburgh in September 1814. In the Civil War of 1861-65 the State furnished more than its due quota of troops, 33,288 men from a total population (1860) of 315,098. The present organized force consists of but one regiment, with one battery, 565 men. The unorganized militia numbered 64,162 men in 1880. The early history of the State may be found in Ililand Hall s and Thompson s Histories. Important documents are given in Vermont State Papers and in Collections of the Vermont Historical Society. Its part in the war of 1801-05 is told in Benedict s Vermont in the Civil War. (J. E. G.) VER.NET, the name of three eminent French painters. I. CLAUDE JOSEPH VERNET (1714-1789), who was born at Avignon on 14th August 1714, when only fourteen years of age aided his father, a skilful decorative painter, in the most important parts of his work. But the panels