BLOOMFIELD-ZEISLER 



778 



BLOWFLY 



BLOOMFIELD-ZEISLER, FANNIE. See 

 ZEISLER, FANNIE BLOOMFIELD. 



BLOOMINGTON, ILL., an important indus- 

 trial city and the county seat of McLean 

 County, one of the richest agricultural sections 

 of the United States. It is situated north of the 

 geographical center of the state, on the Illinois 

 Central, Chicago & Alton, Lake Erie & Western 

 im.l i hi- rirv.-hnd, Cincinnati, Chicago & Saint 

 Louis railways. Electric lines connect with 

 Peoria, Decatur, Springfield and Saint Louis. 

 Chicago is 128 miles northeast, Springfield, the 

 capital, is fifty-nine miles southwest and Peoria 

 is forty-five miles northwest. The city was 

 founded in 1824 and was incorporated as a city 

 in 1850. Its population, mostly American, in- 

 creased from 25,768 in 1910 to 26,850 in 1914. 

 The area is over four square miles. 



Bloomington is styled the Evergreen City, as 

 it presents the appearance of an immense park 

 of shrubbery and trees, dotted with attractive 

 homes. The largest nurseries of the state, 

 covering more than 1,000 acres, are located 

 here. Hundreds of ornamental lights illumine 

 the well-paved streets, and numerous small 

 parks and playgrounds are as gardens within a 

 garden. The Illinois State Normal University, 

 two miles north, at Normal, 111., an institution 

 for the education of teachers; the Illinois Wes- 

 leyan University; a Roman Catholic academy; 

 a business college; a high school, which was 

 erected at a cost of $400,000, r id a library with 

 30,000 volumes, offer educational advantages; 

 besides, there are colleges of music and of 

 oratory. Among the notable structures are a 

 $125,000 Y. M. C. A. building, a $75,000 Federal 

 building, erected in 1895, and a marble court- 

 house. The city also contains two hospitals and 

 about forty churches. 



The car works and repair shops of the Chi- 

 cago & Alton Railroad are located here, and the 

 pork-packing and canning industries are im- 

 portant. Most prominent among the manu- 

 factures are farm implements, flour, stoves, 

 bricks, tiies, silos and portable elevators, and 

 there are several tanneries, cigar factories and 

 a glass plant. Extensive limestone quarries and 

 coal mines are located in the vicinity; one coal 

 shaft lifts several hundred tons a day. The 

 city is also an important horse market, the 

 sale of horses averaging $300,000 yearly. 



Since 1915 Bloomington has had the com- 

 mission form of government, with a mayor and 

 four elective officers. In 1900 the city sus- 

 tained a loss of several millions of dollars by 

 fire in the business district. Bloomington has 



been the home of such distinguished men as 

 former Vice-President Adlai E. Stevenson, 

 David Davis of the Supreme Court, and former 

 governors Joseph W. Fifer and John M. Ham- 

 ilton. J.H.H. 



BLOOMINGTON, IND., popularly styled The 

 University City, because it is the seat of the 

 Indiana State University. Its population, 

 chiefly American, increased from 8,833 in 1910 

 to 9,850 in 1914, exclusive of students. The 

 city, the county seat of Monroe County, is 

 situated southwest of the geographical center of 

 the state, about sixty miles southwest of In- 

 dianapolis, 103 miles northwest of Louisville 

 and 222 miles southeast of Chicago. The Chi- 

 cago, Indianapolis & Louisville Railway (Mo- 

 non Route), constructed through the city in 

 1854, and the Illinois Central (Indianapolis 

 Southern), built in 1906, provide railway ac- 

 commodations. The city was founded in 1818 

 and was incorporated in 1876. Its area is over 

 two square miles. 



Bloomington is located on a ridge between 

 the east and west forks of the White River, in 

 a vast limestone quarry district. Besides quar- 

 rying, the city is actively engaged in the manu- 

 facture of furniture; about 1,000 people are 

 employed in this industry and the annual out- 

 put averages $1,500,000. In addition to the 

 university, with its library of 5,000 volumes, 

 the city has two high schools and a Carnegie 

 Library. The most conspicuous structures are 

 the university buildings, representing a cost of 

 about $1,100,000; the post office, erected in 1912 

 at an outlay of $70,000, and a $150,000 Meth- 

 odist church, built in 1913. The Indiana Uni- 

 versity Park, with an area of ten acres, is the 

 principal recreation spot. B.G.B. 



BLOWFLY, a large blue and black fly, about 

 twice the size of the ordinary house fly, which 



BLOWFLY 



The figure at the left is about twice actual 

 size. At the right is a highly-magnified foot of 

 the insect. 



lays its eggs upon meat or dead animals. These 

 eggs are called fly blows, and hatch very 



