the mineral lies on a hill, and is half a mile in length and two or three rods in width; the depth is unknown. The ore is covered with a stratum of earth about three feet deep; below this is a stratum of ferruginous petrifactions two or three feet in depth, exhibiting forms of buds, leaves, limbs, &c. Below this lies the sulphuret of iron. It is very compact; its colors are brilliant, varying from that of steel to a bright yellow, and it is occasionally diversified by small quantities of green copper ore. It is traversed in many parts by small veins of quartz. The best iron is found at Peru in the southern part of the state, and has the highest reputation for its ductility and toughness. It is worked into chains, bolts, &c. but the bed of ore having been much reduced of late and the manufacture of iron increased, an inferior sort is now mixed with the Peru iron, by which its quality has much deteriorated. It is still, however, of high excellence.

A quarry of fine marble exists in Middlebury. It rests upon a bed of argillite, and rises in many places above the surface of the ground. The marble is of various colors, and has been wrought ever since 1806. It is now in the possession of an incorporated company, and the machinery for sawing it is driven by water. At Swanton on lake Champlain in the N. is an inexhaustible quarry, which covers an area of more than 300 acres. The marble is of a beautiful black, and sometimes of a bright blue clouded color. 100 saws are occupied at the mills in this town, in working it into various forms. On a small island in lake Memphremagog, is a quarry of novaculite, known by the name of Magog oil-stone; it is several hundred feet in length, and interspersed with quartz. A manufactory of this stone has been established in the town of Burke. The oil-stones when manufactured, sell for 50 cts per pound. Quarries of slate are wrought near Brattleboro'.

11. FACE OF THE COUNTRY. Our descriptions have already shown that the surface of the state is highly diversified. From the mountainous ridge which occupies the centre of the state, the land slopes, toward the Connecticut and Lake Champlain. Adjoining the rivers are extensive plains, but the elevated country forms the greater proportion of the surface.

In the northern parts, the population is thin, and the country still unsubdued by the plough. Innumerable stumps, the remains of the pristine forests, deform the fields. Pines and other trees, girdled, dry, and blasted by summer's heat, and winter's cold, scorched and blackened by fire, or piled in confusion, on fields cleared half by the axe, and half by burningthese with the rude log huts of the inhabitants, indicate a country imperfectly subdued by man. But if we confine ourselves to merely physical observations, and consider the natural formation of hill, mountain, valley, lake and stream, we shall find this state to be among the most picturesque portions of North America.

POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY.

1. DIVISIONS. Vermont has 13 counties, Windham, Windsor, Orange, Caledonia, Essex, Grand-Isle, Franklin, Chittenden, Addison, Rutland, Bennington, Washington and Orleans. The towns are 245, and generally about 6 miles square. Pop. of the state 280,679.

2. Towns. Montpelier, the capital, is situated on Onion river, within 10 miles of the centre of the state; it is a flourishing village, and contains the state house, built of wood, a brick church, a court house, jail, academy, several manufactories, a printing office and 2 weekly newspapers: it is in a low situation surrounded by hills; a great many of the roads of the state meet at this point. Pop. 1,792.

Windsor, fon the Connecticut, 60 miles S. E. of Montpelier, is a hand

some town and has considerable business. It contains a court house, a state prison, bank, academy, three churches, three printing offices, and three weekly newspapers. Mount Ascutney, a lofty isolated peak, is partly in this town, and partly in Weathersfield. A magnificent prospect is afforded from its summit. Pop. 3,134.

Burlington, on Lake Champlain, is a flourishing and commercial town. It contains a court house, jail, 2 banks, two printing offices, a college, an academy, two churches and two weekly newspapers. Pop. 3,526. Within the township is another village at the falls of Onion river, containing several manufactories. Burlington has more commerce than any other town in Vermont, and is a port of entry for foreign shipping. A great deal of the trade of Lake Champlain centres at this place. Here are two bridges over the Onion river. This is the largest town on the lake, and occupies a commanding and beautiful situation. The lake suddenly expands as the voyager approaches the town from the S., and a fine semicircular bay opens on the view, skirted by a crescent of high ground, under the shelter of which the town stands. The view from the summit of the hills is delightful, embracing in the foreground the elegant gardens of the town, with the streets below, the curving form of the bay, the whole breadth of the lake, here ten miles across, and a chain of lofty blue mountains on the opposite shore.

Brattleboro', on the Connecticut, 50 miles below Windsor, has several manufactories of cloth, paper, lead, &c. and considerable trade; a weekly paper is published here, and other printing to considerable extent is carried The scenery in the neighborhood of this town is highly picturesque.

on.

Pop. 2,141.

Middlebury, on Otter Creek, has a college and two academies; several churches, a bank, and some manufactories. A quarry of fine marble was discovered here in 1804, and is now wrought for various purposes. Pop. 3,468.

Bennington, near the S. W. corner of the state, has several manufactories and a marble quarry; a weekly newspaper is published here. This is one of the oldest towns of the state, and is celebrated in the history of the revolution for the victory of General Stark over the British in 1777. Pop. 3,419. Vergennes, on Otter Creek, at the head of navigation, 6 miles from the lake, factories and mills; this place was incorporated as a city some years ago, and is the only one in the state. Pop. 999.

has many

Rutland, on Otter Creek, 55 miles from its mouth, is a flourishing and pleasant town, and has a weekly newspaper and some manufactories. Pop. 2,753.

3. AGRICULTURE. What we have said upon this head in the state of N. Hampshire, will apply with little exception to Vermont. Wheat is only cultivated West of the mountains. Maize thrives best on the intervals, but is also raised abundantly on the uplands. Farmers who are industrious, seldom fail of having their barns filled with hay and flax; their granaries with maize, wheat, rye, oats, barley, pease and beans, and their cellars with the best of cider, potatoes and other esculent roots. The raising of wool has lately much increased.

4. COMMERCE. Lake Champlain affords facilities for a considerable commerce between this state and Canada.* The trade in this quarter is chiefly with Montreal; the exports are pot and pearl ashes, beef, pork, butter

There were exported from Vermont by the Champlain Canal, in 1828, 70 million feet of sawed timber; 1,500,000 cubic feet of round and square timber; 1,159 tons round and bar iron; 98 tons pig iron; 161 tons iron ore; 38 tons nails; 523 tons whiskey; 84 tons pork; 349 tons lime; 69 tons beef; 322 tons marble; 153 tons wool; 14 tons maize; 52 tons flour; 201 tons wheat; 50 tons beans; 102 tons rye; 116 tons cheese; 89 tons butter; 112 tons ashes; 45 tons manganese; 17 tons staves; 290 tons hoop-poles and hoops.

and cheese, flax, live cattle, &c. The domestic trade is mostly with Boston, New York and Hartford.

5. MANUFACTURES. Except the domestic fabrics of linen and woolen which occupy almost every family, the manufactures of this state are not considerable. There are however above 100 woolen and cotton manufactories, paper mills and oil mills; also 300 tanneries, and 150 distilleries. Maple sugar is made in nearly every town and family in the state; the average quantity made by each farming family is estimated at 150 pounds, amounting to 6 million pounds a year. Pot and pearl ashes, and iron are also manufactured in various parts. There are manufactories of copperas from native sulphuret of iron at Strafford and Shrewsbury. The ore is detached from the bed by blasting; it is then beaten to pieces with hammers and thrown into large heaps, where it lies exposed to the air and moisture until a spontaneous combustion takes place, and the whole heap is converted from the sulphuret to the sulphate of iron; this usually takes several weeks. After this it is removed to the leaches, and water passed through it, which dissolves the copperas and leaves the earthy matter behind. The water is then conveyed into leaden boilers, and boiled to a certain degree. After this it is transferred to other vessels where it cools, and the copperas crystallizes. These manufactures are sufficiently productive to supply the whole United States. They are owned principally in Boston. In Peru and Bennington are many manufactories of iron, one of which sends to market from 12,00 to 15,00 tons annually.

6. GOVERNMENT. The legislature of Vermont is comprised in a house of representatives called the General Assembly. There is no senate; each town has one representative. The executive officers are a Governor, Lt. Governor, and a council of 12, chosen annually by general ballot; all residents in the state of one year's standing are voters. There is also a council of censors chosen every 7 years; they are 13 in number, and hold their office for a year; their duty is to inquire whether the constitution has been preserved inviolate during the period preceding their appointment, and whether the legislative and executive branches have done their duty, and to suggest alterations in the constitution. The legislature meet at Montpelier in October. Vermont sends 5 representatives to Congress. The revenue of the state is derived chiefly from direct taxation. The expenditures for the year 1830, amounted to 54,966 dollars. Among the items was the sum of 280 dollars paid for destroying wolves. The bounty for each wolf is 20 dollars.

7. RELIGION. The Congregationalists have 203 churches, and 110 ministers. The Baptists 105 churches, and 56 ministers. The Methodists have 44 ministers. The Episcopalians have 11 churches. There are two Unitarian churches, one at Burlington and one at Brattleboro'.

8. EDUCATION. Vermont has two colleges.-Burlington College which bears the title of the University of Vermont, was incorporated in 1791. This institution is finely situated on the E. side of the village of Burlington, one mile from Lake Champlain, 245 feet above the surface of the water. The building is a spacious brick edifice, 160 feet long and four stories high, containing a chapel, 7 rooms for public uses, and 46 for students. The officers are a President and 6 professors. The vacations are two, one in August, the other in January, amounting to 12 weeks. Commencement is on the first Wednesday in August. The funds consist chiefly in lands, amounting to about 30,000 acres. The libraries have about 1500 volumes.

Middlebury College was incorporated in 1800. The buildings are two; one of wood, containing a chapel and 20 rooms for students; the other is a spacious and elegant stone edifice, 180 feet by 40, four stories high, having 48 rooms for students. The libraries have 4000 volumes. The officers are

a President, 5 professors and two tutors. Commencement is on the third Wednesday in August; there are three vacations, in January, May and August, amounting to 13 weeks. At Norwich, on the Connecticut, is an institution called the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy, established by Captan Alden Partridge in 1820. The building is of brick, 100 feet by 40, 4 stories in height, and contains three lecture rooms, and 42 rooms for students. This institution was suspended for a season, but is now again in operation._ Academies and schools are numerous in this state as in other parts of New England. Each town is obliged by law to support public schools.

9. HISTORY. Vermont was first explored by the French settlers of Canada, but the earliest settlement within the territory was made by the English of Massachusetts, who in 1724, more than 100 years after the discoveries in the northern parts by Champlain, established themselves at Fort Dummer, on the Connecticut. Six years after this, the French advanced from Canada down Lake Champlain, and settled at Crown Point, and on the eastern shore of the lake. The claim to the country was afterwards disputed by N. Hampshire and New York. The British Parliament decided in favor of the latter state, but much confusion and altercation were caused by the conflicting grants of land made by the N. Hampshire and New York governments. The disputes thus occasioned, remained unsettled during the revolutionary war, after which New York compounded for her claim, and Vermont became an independent state. She was received into the Union in March 1791.

CHAPTER IV. MASSACHUSETTS.

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.

1. BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT.

Massachusetts is bounded N. by Vermont and N. Hampshire; E. by the Atlantic; S. by Rhode Island and Connecticut; and W. by New York. It extends from 41° 23′ to 43° 52′ N. lat. and from 69° 50′ to 73° 10 W. long. Its greatest length is from E. to W., which reckoning the peninsula of Cape Cod is 190 miles; its breadth is about 90. Its area is computed at 7,500 square miles.

2. MOUNTAINS. That range, denominated in Vermont the Green Mountains, enters the W. part of Massachusetts from the N. forming the Hoosac and Tagkannuc ridges, which run nearly parallel to each other S. into Connecticut. The Tagkannuc ridge is near the western boundary of the state; its most elevated peaks are Saddle Mountain in the N., 4000 feet high, and Tagkannuc Mountain in the S., 3000 feet. The Hoosac ridge has no summits much above half these elevations. It divides the waters of the Connecticut from those of the Housatonic. The White Mountain range enters this state from N. Hampshire a little to the E. of the Connecticut, and running southerly, divides below Northampton, into the Mount Tom and Lyme ranges. Mount Tom and Mount Holyoke are single peaks in this range, the first is 1200, and the second 910 feet above the level of Connecticut river, which flows between them. E. of this range are some detached groups. Wachusett, a single mountain toward the E., is 3000 feet above the level of the sea.

Saddle Mountain is in the N. W. corner of Massachusetts, and is the highest point of land in the state. It consists of a ridge, 6 miles long, with

two distinct summits. The ascent begins at Hoosac river, but for a mile and a half it is a very gradual acclivity. The mountain is covered with forests of maple, beech, cherry and birch, with large patches and streaks of evergreens; the rocks are a shining schistus of a beautiful light blue, and lamellated with a smooth brilliant surface. The soil is rich up to the summit, and abounds with springs. Near the highest point is a pond. Clouds hang about the mountain almost perpetually, and its surface is covered with leaves, moss and other spongy materials, fitted to retain moisture. From the summit, a very grand and extensive view is afforded. The Catskill Mountains appear in the W. the Green Mountains in the E. N. and S. with the peaks of Monadnock, Tagkannuc and Mount Tom, at 40 and 50 miles distance.

An extraordinary phenomenon which the inhabitants describe as the bursting of a cloud, took place upon this mountain in the autumn of 1784. A deluge of water came pouring down the western side of the mountain, about the dawn of day, in a wide column 20 feet in depth, sweeping away trees and rocks in its course. The tenants of a house on the banks of the Hoosac, being awakened by the roaring of the torrent, had much difficulty in saving themselves, and their dwelling was swept into the river. For two miles the stream overflowed its banks to the height of 10 or 12 feet. A tract of land, 10 acres in extent, was entirely stripped of trees by the torrent, and a channel 20 feet in depth was worn down the side of the mountain.

Mount Holyoke, near Northampton on the Connecticut, is much visited by travellers for the beauty of its prospect. It has a good carriage road most of the way up, and a building on the summit for the accommodation of visitors. The beautiful valley of the Connecticut is spread beneath it, bordered by distant ranges of hills, covered with the richest vegetation, and sprinkled over with villages and farm houses. The river has a beautiful serpentine course, from the foot of Sugar Loaf Mountain and Mount Toby, amid meadows, gardens and villages. Beyond the river is seen Mount Tom; in the N. E. appears Monadnock, and Saddle Mountain in the N. W., while under the feet of the spectator are the villages of Northampton and Hadley, with more than 30 church spires scattered over the landscape.

3. VALLEYS. The valley of the Connecticut, which, varying in width, extends through the state from N. to S., consists for the most part of a sandy alluvion. The lower flats are fertile, producing rich crops of maize, rye, oats, barley and hay. In the vicinity of Hatfield in this valley are extensive fields of broom corn, and the manufacture of this article into brooms, absorbs a considerable portion of the labor of the towns in the neighborhood. A portion of this valley is occupied by sandy tracts which yield light crops of rye, and maize. Some of these plains are covered with low pine forests. The valley of the Housatonic extends nearly in the same direction with that of the Connecticut, and consists of alluvial tracts, of the same description. The valley of the Hoosac is in the N. W.; it consists of an almost uninterrupted succession of interval, about a mile in width, extremely rich, and ornamented with the liveliest verdure. The waters of this stream are remarkably limpid, and wind their way along this valley, through luxuriant meadows and pastures, green to the water's edge, and fringed with willows, or crowned with lofty trees.

4. RIVERS. The Connecticut enters the western part of this state, and flows S. into Connecticut. The tract which it waters in Massachusetts is 50 miles in extent, but its course is meandering. In this distance it receives Deerfield and Westfield rivers from the W., and Miller's and Chickapee rivers from the E. The Housatonic rises in the N. W. corner of the state, and flows S. into Connecticut; receiving the waters of the valley between the Hoosac mountains on the E. and the Tagkannuc range on the W. The Merrimack