Chap. 8. 



EDUCATION AND LITERATURE. 



147 



NEW BUILDINGS ERECTED. 



FUNDS, LIBRARY AND SOCIETIES. 



commenced in Uie spring of ld25, and 

 finished in the course of that and the fol- 

 lowing year, at an expense of .^10,000, 

 which was nearly all subscribed by the 

 inhabitants of Burlington and the imme- 

 diate vicinity. The corner stone of the 

 south building was laid on the 29th of 

 June, lii27y, by General La Fayette, and 

 the ceremony was accompanied by suita- 

 ble religious exercises.* Each of these 

 buildings contains ^4 convenient rooms 

 for students. The third, or central build- 

 ing, was erected and nearly finished in 

 1829, and cost about $9,000. It stands 

 between the other two, is 66 feet long, 

 has a projection in front and rear, and is 

 surmounted by a dome. This building 

 contains the public rooms, consisting 

 of a chapel, museum, library, apparatus 

 room, societies' halls and rooms for recita- 

 tion. All these buildings are substan- 

 tially built of brick and covered with tin, 

 and are furnished throughout with stoves. 



Tlie medical faculty was not fully or- 

 ganized in connection with the university 

 till 1822, and in the fall of this year was 

 given the first full and regular course of 

 medical lectures. From that time there 

 was for several j'ears an annual course of 

 lectures, which were attended by a re- 

 spectable number of students. The num- 

 ber admitted during this period to the de- 

 gree of M. D., may be seen in the follow- 

 ing catalogue. In 1829, a building 

 was erected at the south end of col- 

 lege green, which contains the chemical 

 laboratory of the university and commo- 

 dious rooms for chemical, anatomical and 

 other lectures. The regular course of 

 medical lectures was kept up till 1633, 

 when they were suspended, and have not 

 since been resumed. 



Mr. Preston resigned the presidency of 

 the university in 1826, and was succeeded 

 by the Rev. James JMarsli, who resigned 

 that office in 1833, and the Rev. John 

 Wheeler was elected to supply his place. 

 At the period last mentioned, an effort was 

 made to relieve the vmi versify of its embar- 

 rassments, and in the course of 1833 and 

 '34 an available subscription was raised for 

 the institution of $26,000. This was prin- 

 cipally expended in the purchase of a 

 choice library and apparatus, and in the 

 payment of debts of the university. From 

 that period the condition and prospects of 

 the institution have greatly improved. 



*Thi3 stone is Bituated in the north west corner 

 of the building and has upon it the following in- 

 scription : 



Laid by 



Gen. L.\ FAYETTE, 



June 29, 1S25. 



Funds and support. These consist in 

 lands, the charges for tuition, and occa- 

 sional subscriptions. The lands given by 

 the state for the support of the university, 

 amounting to about 29,000 acres, afford at 

 present an annual income to the institu- 

 tion of about !|(2,.500. The remaining part 

 of the support is derived principally from 

 the charge for tuition and room rent. 



In 1839, the Hon. Azarias Williams of 

 Concord, in this state, in consideration of 

 the payment of certain debts and of an 

 annuity of ^400, to be paid to him during 

 his life, deeded to the corporation of the 

 university of Vermont, all his large land- 

 ed property. The lands thus deeded 

 amount to about 1.5,000 acres in this state, 

 besides a considerable quantity lying in 

 other states. The lands in Vermont con- 

 sist of a farm of 400 acres in Concord, 

 valued at ,*)s6,000, and of detached par- 

 cels and lots scattered through tlie dif- 

 ferent towns in the northern part of the 

 state. On account of the annuity and the 

 expenses required in putting these lands 

 in an available condition, the corporation 

 at present derive no benefit from this 

 accession to their property, but its ulti- 

 mate value to the institution is estimated 

 at about $25,000. 



Lihrnry. The library of the university 

 consists of about 8,000 volumes, and, in 

 proportion to its size, will not suffer in 

 comparison with any other librar}- in the 

 country. The books were mostly pur- 

 chased in Europe, and tliey consist, to a 

 very great extent, of the best editions of 

 the most rare and expensive works. 



Societies. There are four permanent 

 societies connected with the university. 

 These are the Phi Sigma Nu, the Univer- 

 sity Institute, the College of Natural 

 History, and the Society for Reljo-ious 

 Inquiry. The two first have respectable 

 and well selected libraries, that of the 

 Phi Sigma Nu consisting of 1500 vol- 

 umes, and that of the Institute of 1200. 

 The room fitted up for the museum of the 

 College of Natural History is large and 

 commodious and the collections respecta- 

 ble, particularly in the departments of 

 conchology and mineralog}'. 



Admission. Candidates for admission 

 to the university must produce satisfacto- 

 ry testimonials of a good moral character, 

 and sustain before one or more of the fac- 

 ulty an approved examination in "the fol- 

 lowing studies: — Common Aritiinietic, 

 Elements of Algebra, Elements of An- 

 cient and Modern Geograpliy, English, 

 Latin and Greek Grammar, and be able 

 to translate with facility Jacob's Greek 

 Reader, and six books of Homer's Iliad ; 

 Jacob's Latin Reader, Sallust or Ccesar's 



