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 BURLINGTON 461 of nearly 300 ft., giving a lake view to all parts j of the city. At the apex of this inclined plane, overlooking the entire city, stands the univer- sity of Vermont. Among other buildings of note are St. Mary's Roman Catholic cathedral, seven churches, the court house, custom house, city hall, and Fletcher free library of 8,000 volumes. In Green Mount cemetery is the tomb of Gen. Ethan Allen, who died here in 1789 ; over this the state has erected a granite monument, with a shaft 4J- ft. in diameter and 42 ft. high, bearing the inscription "Ti- conderoga," above which is a heroic statue of Gen. Allen 8 ft. high, placed in position and unveiled in the presence of 10,000 spectators, July 4, 1873. The city is supplied with water from the lake, forced into a reservoir on the crest of the hill, and thence by pipes carried to all parts of the city, and with force sufficient to raise it above the highest buildings. Bur- lington has an excellent harbor, the best on the lake, easy of access, and protected on the only exposed side by a breakwater 3,000 ft. long, on each end of which stands a beacon light; another light on Juniper island guards the entrance into the bay. As a lumber mart, it ranks with the first three in the United States. The public free schools, under a board of five commissioners, elected by vote of the city, are organized into one graded and one ungraded school. The former has four grades, viz. : primary, intermediate, grammar, and high school, each requiring a three years' course, making a twelve years' course from the lowest primary class to the graduating class in the high school. There are 34 teachers employed, at an aggregate salary of $16,000. The city contains about 3,000 children of school age. Besides the above there are the Vermont Epis- copal institute at Rock Point, for males only, a ladies' seminary, and four Roman Catho- lic schools. The university of Vermont was founded in 1791. It comprises an academical department, a medical college, and the agricul- tural college, organized in 1865 by means of the national grant of 150,000 acres of land'. By vote of the trustees in 1872, the university is open to females. It has 21 instructors, 138 students, a library of 16,000 volumes, and a museum containing more than 45,000 speci- mens. Two daily and five weekly newspapers are published. The first permanent settlement at Burlington was made in 1783 ; the first town meeting on record was in 1787 ; and the first meeting house (Congregational) was erected in 1795. In 1864 a city charter was granted. BURLINGTON, a city and port of entry of Burlington co., N. J., on the Delaware river, at the mouth of Assiscunk creek, 18 m. N. E. of Philadelphia; pop. in 1870, 5,817. It was founded in 1677, principally by members of the society of Friends. It is situated on the Camden and Amboy railroad, and is connect- ed with Philadelphia by lines of steamers, and by a branch railroad with Mount Holly. The city contains two hotels, two boarding schools, several churches and banks, an ancient library, which contains a large collection of rare and valuable works, and public schools which are richly endowed by a legacy of land from one of the early settlers, now become ex- ceedingly productive. Three weekly news- papers are published. Burlington college, an Episcopal institution, educates a large number of students; and St. Mary's hall, also under the supervision of the Episcopalians, in 1871 had 28 instructors, of whom 20 were females, 209 pu- pils, and a library of 2,400 volumes. For the year ending June 30, 1871, there were regis- tered, enrolled, and licensed at the port 131 ves- sels, with an aggregate tonnage of 12,525. Burlington was long the seat of government for West Jersey, and was the official residence of the last colonial governor, William Franklin. It carried on a lucrative commerce with the West Indies both before and after the laying out of Philadelphia, built vessels, and subsequently built and fitted out a large privateer, which cruised successfully against the French. It was made the see of a bishop, and St. Mary's Epis- copal church was liberally endowed by Queen Anne with land in and near the city, much of which is held to the present day, together with a massive communion service, presented by the same princess. A printing office and news- paper were established in 1777. As Philadel- phia increased, Burlington declined. BURLINGTON, a city and the county seat of Des Moines co., Iowa, 137 in. S. E. of Des Moines, and 207 m. by railroad W. S. W. of Chicago, on the W. bank of the Mississippi river, about 14 m. N. of an easterly extension of the main boundary line between Iowa and Missouri ; pop. in 1870, 14,933. The W. bank of the Mississippi at this point consists mostly of steep cliffs of carboniferous limestone 150 ft. high, furnishing an abundance of excellent ma- terials for building, paving, and the manufac- ture of lime. The stone quarries in this forma- tion are rich in the organic fossils of the carbo- niferous era, particularly of the crinoid family. The summits of these cliffs are capped with some 30 or 40 feet of diluvial clay, that, with a rich surface stratum of vegetable mould, forms the table land of the surrounding country. At the base of these cliffs the slope of their debris passes into the river. This deep embankment is scooped out through the centre of the city by the waters of a small creek, called the Hawk- eye, which enters the Mississippi nearly at right angles. On either side of this creek, and to the west, about half a mile from the river, where the creek branches to the right and left, the ground gradually rises to the level of the surrounding table land, thus giving to the central portions of the town an arrangement similar to an amphitheatre, and adding much to its beauty and salubrity. On the opposite side of the river low lands, mostly subject to occasional inundation, extend some 7 or 8 m. to the Illinois bluffs. The business portion of the city is built upon the low ground along the