each chain, and is, with these tributaries, part of the drains of the central mountain valley, but, declining northwardly, bears its water into St. Lawrence by the St. Francis. See Table XVII., article UNITED STATES. Lake Memphramagog, distant 40 miles from Champlain, is 562 feet more elevated. From the preceding elements, with the exception of the comparatively small section drained into Lake Memphramagog, and which slopes northwardly, the great body of Vermont is composed of two inclined plains, having the eastern chain of its mountains as a common apex, and the channel of Connecticut as its eastern and most elevated base, and the shores of Lake Champlain as the western and most depressed base. Through this main chain, the summit level between Passumpsic sources and those of Lake Memphramagog are 1175 feet above the Atlantic tides, and that between Onion and White rivers is about 850 feet, of similar relative elevation. Independent, therefore, of the geographic position of its natural sections, the mean and extreme temperature of Vermont must differ greatly, following the rapid change of height. The elevations given are taken from measurements made with canalling projects in view, taken, of course, along the streams, and over the lowest gaps of the mountains, of consequence, in every case of the streams, below the arable country adjacent. The cultivated soil differs in height above the ocean from 100 to, it is probable, 1500 feet, or to an amount exceeding an equivalent to three degrees of latitude.

The soil of Vermont is as various as its surface, but a large proportion productive. The soil and climate are more suitable to grasses than to fruit, though of the latter the apple in particular succeeds well. Of minerals, iron ore is the only one of value that is abundant.

The opening of the Hudson and Champlain canal was of inestimable advantage to western Vermont. Having an inland sea extending about one hundred miles along its western border, and into which the canal entered, more than one-half the state was opened to tide navigation, which was before in a peculiar manner secluded. Pot and pearl ashes, the product of immense forests, and even the timber of those forests, now find a ready market. Consulting the tables of relative height in the article UNITED STATES, will disclose the fact, that 90 feet of lockage is only necessary to open the tide navigation of St. Lawrence to Lake Champlain. The subjoined tables will exhibit how much the advance of population in Vermont has depended on commercial facility.

Political Geography.-From the abstract of the respective enumerations of the people of the United States, taken in 1790, 1800, 1810, and 1820, published by the United States general government, with the result of the census of 1830, we find that it was not until the census of 1820 was taken that the counties of Vermont were complete, as they stand in that of 1830. We have therefore constructed the general table so as to include only the two last enumerations, as by them alone can be made any beneficial statistical comparison.

County.

Windham,

Windsor,

Orange,

Caledonia,

VERNIER, or NONIAS. See QUADRANT, Vol. XVI. p. 285-286.

VERONA, a city of Austrian Italy, and the capital of Verona, a province in the government of Venice. It is agreeably situated on both sides of the Adige, partly on a slope, and partly on a plain, which extends far to the south. The river, which divides the town into two unequal parts, is crossed with four bridges of stone, of which that of Castel Vecchio is the most remarkable. The town is of an irregular figure, and is about six miles in circuit, the modern part extending considerably beyond the old walls. It is fenced by a moat and an earthen mound, and there are two castles on elevated ground, and a third on the plain, but it is a place of no strength. Verona has five gates. Porte del Paglia, built of stone filled with petrifac tions, is elegant, and Porta dei Borsari, is an ancient double gate like those of ancient Rome. The principal streets are the Corso, where horse races are held, and that which leads to the Mantua gate. Some of the rest are well paved and wide, but others are narrow and dirty. The houses, though of an ancient aspect, look well, from many of them being built of marble. The principal square con

tains the handsomest houses.

Verona contains a cathedral, in which there is a fine bronze crucifix; besides several handsome churches. The church of St. Zeno has a fine facade and a grand portal, and its roof is sustained by rows of columns, each of a single piece of marble. The church of St. George contains a picture of the martyrdom of that saint, by Paul Veronese. The church of St. Bernardino contains the celebrated Capella Varesca by San Michelo. The ancient church of St. Nazaro is one of the finest monuments of sacred antiquity. The church of St. Maria antica, is adorned with the busts of the Scaligeri family. The town house is ornamented with busts of the learned natives of the city, Pliny, Catullus, Cornelius Nepos and Vitruvius. The building called the Royal Palace has never been completed. The other palaces are that of Bevilacqua, a stately edifice, Canossa, Gustaversa, Pompei Gherardini, &c. The museum and the academy have an elegant Ionic portico, and contain an interesting collection of antiquities.

The most important feature of Verona is the Roman amphitheatre, situated in the large square of Del Bro. It is composed of large blocks of marble without cement, and rests on a double row of massy vaults, where the wild beasts were kept. Its exterior circumference is 1331 feet, its greatest diam eter is 464, and its lesser 367. The oval arena in the centre is 220 feet long, and 130 broad. The seats, staircases, and galleries are entire. The number of ranges of seats is 46, and it was capable of holding 23,484 persons. Near the amphitheatre stands the modern theatre built by Palladio, and having a fine portico. The Palazzo del Consiglio is a noble edifice, built by San Savino. The Academica Philharmonica and the Philoli contain a number of ancient monuments. Verona has a lyceum, a gymnasium, an academy of paintings, and a public library.

VOL. XVIII. PART I.

About half a mile from the city, in a garden, once the cemetery of a Franciscan convent, is a sarcophagus called the Tomb of Juliet. It is made of Verona marble, with a place for the head, a socket for a candle, and two holes for the admission of air.

The manufactures of Verona are silk, which is the chief one, woollens, leather, gloves, and shoes. Population 45,000. East Lon. 11° 1' 15". North Lat. 44° 26' 17". For an account of the petrifactions in the vicinity, see BOLOA, Monte, Vol. III. p. 624-630.

VERSAILLES, a town of France, situated 12 miles to the S.W. of Paris, and the chief place of the department of the Seine and Oise. From having been so long the residence of the court, Versailles is one of the most elegant towns in France. Its squares and market places are large and elegant, and its streets, which intersect each other at right angles, are clean and spacious. The avenues leading to the palace divides the town into two parts, the one to the left being called the old, and the other the new town, in which are situated the principal church and the handsomest buildings. Versailles has a cathedral and eight churches, a high school, a library, a cabinet of natural history, and a botanic garden. The following is an account of the palace and gardens, &c. as they were in 1814.

"The palace itself, when viewed from the west, consists of a centre and two wings. The central building is composed of three sides of a square, the square projecting in front of the wings which are connected with it. The whole front towards the garden is 1965 feet in length. It consists of two stories and an attic, and is decorated with Ionic pilasters and columns, and adorned with numerous statues, nearly 14 feet in height, representing the four seasons, the twelve months of the year, and the arts.

"In the north wing, near its junction with the main body, stands the chapel, which was begun in 1699. When viewed from the west front, it does not appear as a separate building, excepting by the elevation of its roof, which rises higher than the palace. It is 134 feet long outside, and is decorated with 16 Corinthian columns and 22 demi-columns upon the wall, between which are 12 elegantly coloured glass windows. The marble pavement, the sculpture, and the painting renders this chapel one of the most elegant buildings of the kind in Europe. The apartments of the palace are reckoned 1532 in number; but as the whole of it was undergoing a complete repair, it was difficult to examine them with attention. Notwithstanding the scaffoldings also were placed in every apartment, the extreme richness and splendour were sufficiently visible, marble and gilding and the finest paintings being profusely lavished on every apartment. The saloon of Hercules was particularly grand, and the great gallery, which stretches along the front side of the central square, exceeds all description. It is 288 feet long, 41 feet broad, and 50 feet high. It is illuminated by 17 windows, with corresponding arcades on the opposite side, and the pilasters and columns are all of marble with gilt bronze capitals 2 D*

and bases. At the back of the central part we were shown the balcony upon which the King and the Queen and Dauphin presented themselves to the mob during the revolution.

"On the west side of the south wing stands the orangerie, which is reckoned the finest in the world. It lies very low, and we descend to it by two noble stone staircases. There is about 1000 orange trees, and the oldest of them has the following inscription upon it: 'semé en 1421,' so that it is now 409 years old. The trees are all in green square boxes of wood, and each box is numbered, and has also the year in which the tree was planted or brought to the orangerie. The Serre, or apartments under the terrace into which the orange trees are put in winter, forms three sides of a square, the other side opening by an iron railing into the piece of water of great extent. The principal side, which looks to the south, is 624 feet long, and 48 wide over the walls, which are 12 feet thick. The other side, reckoning to the extremity of the staircase, is 465 feet long.

"On the west side of the north wing is a huge basin of water, of great extent, ornamented with numerous bronze figures, and with jet d'eaus, jerbs, &c. of all kinds. Before the front of the palace, and extending to a great distance, there were numerous extensive basins of water, lined with marble, and containing jet d'eau of every variety. As the Dutchess of Angouleme happened to visit Versailles on the same day with us, we had the good fortune to see all these brilliant waterworks in full play.

"Among the numerous objects of interest which cover the beautiful and extensive grounds of Versailles, I was much struck with the Bosquet de la Collonade, and with the Bains d'Apollon. The Bosquet consists of a circular peristyle of marble 105 feet in diameter, having 32 columns 16 feet high, formed of different kinds of marble, with their capitals of white marble. Each of the columns corresponds to a pilaster of white Languedoc marble, and the columns support as many arches, the keys of which represent nymphs, naiads, and sylvan deities. The peristyle is surmounted by a cornice, and the cornice by a socle or plinth, on which are placed vases of marble. In the triangular tympanum there are numerous bas reliefs of different articles. Within each arch, exactly below the key-stone, there is a basin of marble, from which the water is thrown up in a jet 17 feet high. As there is no marble basin at this entrance, the number is, of course, only 28. The Bains d'Apollon or Le rocher, as it is called, consists of a large artificial rock, built of stone from St. Cloud. A grotto, with the appearance of imperfect pillars, is formed in the rock, and its entrance, which is intended to represent the palace of Thetis, is decorated with a fine

group seated in the middle of six nymphs. On the right hand of the spectator, and near the bottom of the rock, is another group, representing the two steeds of Apollo taken to the water by the Tritons; on the left hand there is another group, consisting of two Tritons and two steeds. Torrents of water run down different parts of the rock, and form a pool in front of it. The joints of the stones of the rock are distinctly visible, otherwise it might be considered as natural. It is fairly embosomed in wood, and numerous exotic plants grow in the crevices."

The manufactures of Versailles are, one of firearms, and clocks and watches. The spinning and weaving of cotton, and the bleaching of linen are carried on to some extent. Population about 30,000.

VESPUCCI, or VESPUCIUS AMERIGO, was born at Florence, on the 9th March 1451, of a noble family. He was the third son, and was educated under his paternal uncle, a learned friar. He went to Seville to look after some commercial concerns, and he appears to have been in that city when Columbus returned from his first voyage. According to the statement of Vespucci himself, he sailed from Cadiz with four caravels, and after touching at the Canaries, arrived in 37 days at the coast of Paria. If this be true, he was the first discoverer of the American continent, and anticipated Columbus by a whole year, but there seems to be very little doubt that this account is an entire fiction. He sailed, indeed, in May 1499, but only as a passenger in the expedition fitted out by Ojeda. Touching at the Carribees, the expedition visited the Gulf of Paria, and afterwards Hispaniola. At the invitation of the king of Portugal, he took the command of three vessels, which sailed in 1501, and reached a point five degrees south of the line. He set out again in May 1503, with the view of going to the East Indies, but he was driven into All Saints bay, on the coast of Brazil, to which he gave its name. In 1507, he returned to Seville, into the service of the king of Spain, who appointed him, in 1508, pilotmajor, with an annual pension of 71,000 maravedis, and it is said, that in this capacity, he inserted his own name, or that of Amerigo's land, in the maps of the new world which he projected. This, however, is not believed by Mr. Washington Irving, who ascribes to future geographers the application of Vespucci's name to the new world. Vespucci remained at Seville, and retained his office till his death, on the 22d February 1512, though it has been stated that he died in 1516, and was buried in one of the Azores. For a full and interesting ac count of this navigator, see Washington Irving's Life of Columbus, vol. iv. p. 157-191. APP. No. IX. See also the Family Library, vol. xi. where there is a fine portrait of him.

VESUVIAN. See MINERALOGY, Index.