392 VERMONT. 



the east, winter wheat does not succeed so well. Barley, oats, peas, 

 flax, and all kinds of edible roots, may be cultivated to advantage. 

 The warmer soils along the rivers produce good Indian corn. Agri- 

 culture being the first and principal object of attention with new 

 settlers, is, in Vermont, as well as in various other parts of the Uni- 

 ted States, in a state of progressive improvement. It forms the basis 

 pt their wealth, independence, and happiness. 



Cliiwate and seasons... The seasons in Vermont are much more 

 regular than in the middle and southern states. During the winter 

 the weather is intensely cold and piercing, the atmosphere hazy, and 

 the sky usually serene and cloudless. The ground is covered from 

 December to March with snow from two to four feet deep. Snow 

 falls frequently, but in small quantities at a time, and is soon over. 

 The severity of winter lasts between three and four months. Spring 

 commences about the middle of March, and, after two or three weeks 

 of boisterous and variable weather, the air becomes mild, warm and 

 pleasant, attended with frequent showers. Vegetation is rapid. In. 

 slimmer the weather is generally fair, clear and settled, with winds 

 n "'■■ isily from the south and south-east. The most agreeable season is 

 September and part of October, during which time the sky is clear, 

 and the winds front the west. Cold, wet, uncomfortable weather, 

 begins in October, and continues through November, attended fre- 

 c;u •,!} ivith squalls of snow and high winds. The climate, gene- 

 rally speaking^ is one calculated to inspire health, vigour, and anima- 

 tion of spires. 



*xatns and face of the country ...Vermont is divided, 

 through s whole length, by a high range of mountains, called the 

 Green \i< umaiiis, from which it derives its name. They rise in Lower 

 Canada, and, corfver&ift'gi take their direction thence southward 

 through the states of Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut, 

 ranging nearly parallel with Connecticut river on the east side, and 

 on the, west with Lake Champlain and Hudson river, terminating 

 within a few miles of the sea coast near New-Haven. Their general 

 bearing is from north north-east to south south-west, and their length 

 about 400 miles. In the south of the state, their western verge is 

 from 20 to 30 miles on a direct line from Connecticut river : north- 

 ward between Onion and White rivers, there passes off, to the north- 

 east, a i*ange of high lands, frequently rising into very elevated moun- 

 tains, varying from the distance of 10 to 15 miles from Connecticut river. 

 The western range continues northward. Between these two ranges, 

 extending from 20 to 30 miles in breadth, lies a beautiful champaign 

 country , equal in fertility to any in the state. The lateral ridges, seen at a 

 distance, appear, in many places, like a collection of mountains piled 

 upon one another, and exhibit some of the grandest, and most ma- 

 jestic features of nature. They are from 10 to 15 miles wide, abound- 

 ing in springs and streams of water, and mostly covered with forests 

 perpetually verdant. Pine, spruce, hemlock and fir, interwoven with 

 shrubbery, render their summits, which are rocky, and covered with 

 moss almost inaccessible. Their greatest height has been estimated 

 at 345 -1 feet above the level of the Atlantic. 



Vermont is hilly but not rocky, and exhibits very different aspects. 

 Along the margin of the rivers lie extensive plains of fine level land. 

 At a small distance from these the elevations commence, and continue 

 ascending until they form those lofty ranges of mountains already 

 described. These are intersected by numerous deep and long vallies. 



