796 



VERMONT. 



important, and perpetual responsibilities. I refer to 

 the " Huntingdon fund," which the Treasurer, in 

 pursuance of a joint resolution of the General Assem- 

 bly of 1882, authorizing him to collect and receive ot 

 the executor of the last will of Arunah Huntington, 

 late of Brantford, P. Q., "all the property to which 

 the State was entitled under said will, and deposit 

 the same in the State treasury," has deposited the 

 net amount so received, to wit, $205,111.22, in the 

 treasury in the month of April, A. D. 1883. This is 

 for the common schools. 



The current State expenses for the last two 

 years wera $648,494, or over v$70,000 less 

 than for the term ending in 1882. The Treas- 

 urer's report shows a deficiency of $32,171, 

 which amount was borrowed from the Hunt- 

 ington fund. For many years previous to 

 1883 large balances were in the hands of the 

 Treasurer and were the direct incentive to ex- 

 travagance and loose practices in administra"- 

 tion. The following is the list of taxable prop- 

 erty for 1883 and former years: 1880, real 

 estate, $71,114,747 ; personal property, $15,- 

 037,262 ; total, $86,152,009. 1881, real estate, 

 $102,437,102; personal property, $46,896,967; 

 total, $149,334,069. 1882, real estate, $106,- 

 577,559 ; personal property, $46,996,025 ; to- 

 tal, $153,573,584. 1883, real estate, $104,549,- 

 674; personal property, $49,586,310; total, 

 $154,135,984. Offsets on personal property 

 for debts were, in 1882, $32,000,000. 



Schools. We give below school statistics of 

 the State for the year ending March 31, 1884 : 



Number of districts 2,290 



Public schools 2,550 



Average number of days of school in the year . . . 127 



Number of pupils enrolled 78,283 



Number between five and twenty years of age . . 72,744 



Average daily attendance 47,607 



Number of male teachers 540 



Number of female teachers 8,723 



Average wages per week for male teachers $8 58 



Average wages per week for female teachers 5 01 



Total revenue for school purposes $562,346 83 



Comparing the above with the report for the 

 year ending March 31, 1883, it is found that 

 the number of school districts has decreased 

 forty, the number of schools has decreased 

 three, the number of days of school has de- 

 creased four, the number of pupils enrolled has 

 increased 589. 



Savings-Banks and Trnst Companies. There are 

 twenty-four savings-banks, savings-institutions, 

 and trust companies in active business in the 

 State, with 45,837 depositors, holding deposits 

 aggregating $13,724,291.53, of which amount 

 $11,327,100.78 belong to resident depositors 

 and $2,394,218.75 to non-residents; the aver- 

 age amount deposited by each being $299.35, 

 or about one third less than the year previous. 

 There are but 272 depositors having to their 

 credit over $2,000 each, and about one half of 

 these deposits were in the seven trust compa- 

 nies, that are not restricted by law in the 

 amounts receivable from anyone person, while 

 the savings-institutions are prohibited from 

 receiving in excess of that amount except from 

 widows, orphans, executors, etc. 



Insane Asylum. The number of wards of the 

 State confined in this institution remains 



substantially unchanged the number Aug. 1, 

 1882, being 441 ; and Aug. 1, 1884, 437. Dur- 

 ing that period 189 patients were admitted to 

 the institution, and 190 were discharged. 



Penal Institutions and Reform School. The three 

 institutions have a capacity for accommodating 

 426 persons, while the number of inmates in 

 each, on Aug. 1, was as follows : 



For the past two years the expenses of the 

 State Prison exceeded the income by $17,461. 

 The House of Correction cost the State about 

 $5,000 for the two years. During that time 

 it received 327 prisoners. The Eeform School 

 cost the State $22,589. 



Railroads. -Vermont has 1,055 miles of rail- 

 road, which cost $41,028,915. The roads have 

 a capital of $22,458,300 and a funded debt of 

 $1 9,230,900. During the two years ended July 

 31, 1884, 28 persons were killed by the cars, 

 all employes of the roads; 69 persons were in- 

 jured, of whom three were passengers. 



Forestry. From replies to a circular, the For- 

 estry Commission find 1. That from 80 to 90 

 per cent, of the native forests have been cleared 

 off in the longer settled and better agricultural 

 portions of the State in some localities ; remote 

 from railways virgin forests are still found. 



2. The annual clearing is now comparatively 

 small, except in the vicinity of newly construct- 

 ed railways. The annual diminution of forest 

 acreage is smaller and growing less, and, in 

 some sections, especially in the southern and 

 southeastern, the forest area is increasing from 

 old pastures and abandoned lands. The new 

 growth is less valuable than the original. 



3. There is no systematic effort to reclothe 

 abandoned and worn-out lands with a forest- 

 growth. 4. About twenty-five cords to the 

 acre is cut after a growth of twenty years, in- 

 creasing about one and one half cords a year 

 in the next ten years. 5. The use of coal is 

 rapidly increasing and reducing the consump- 

 tion of wood. 6. The replies indicate less 

 damage from forest-fires than was expected ; 

 it is, however, considerable in the aggregate, 

 and the injury seems to be greatest to the 

 second growth, and in places where the mill- 

 timber has been cut, and brush and tree-tops 

 .left to feed the forest-fires. 7. No disease 

 now affecting the spruce is reported. Injury 

 to maple, tamarack, and some other trees from 

 borers, caterpillars, and insects is reported, but 

 the damage seems not to be great or general. 

 8. The answers to the questions in regard to 

 the effect of the removal of the forests upon 

 the springs, streams, and ponds of the State, 

 with scarcely an exception, tell the same story : 

 that the water-supply is year by year failing; 

 and that the smaller springs and streams, which 



