VERMONT. 
360 
VERMILLION, a riverof the United States, in Louisiana, 
which rises in some high provinces in the district of the 
Opelousas, and after running a southerly course, discharges 
itself into Vermillion bay, in the gulf of Mexico, about 
200 miles west of the mouth of the Mississippi, with whose 
stream, however, and with that of Red river, it is connected 
by the different channels with which the country is here 
everywhere intersected.—2. A river of the United States, 
in Louisiana, which runs into the Osage, one of the tributary 
branches of the Missouri.—3. A river of the United States, 
in Ohio, which falls into Lake Erie ; 9 miles east of Huron 
river.—4. A riverof the United States, in the state of Illinois, 
which runs into the Illinois river; 150 miles from the Mis- 
sissipi.—5. A bay of the coast of Louisiana, in the gulf of 
Mexico, in the district of Attakapas.—6. A post township 
of the United States, in Huron county, Ohio, on Lake Erie, 
at the mouth of the Vermillion, about 40 miles west of 
Cleveland.—7. A river of the United States, in Louisiana, 
which joins the Arkansaw. 
VERMILLION BRIDGE, a post village of the United 
States, in Attakapas district, Louisiana. 
VERMILLION POINT, or Cape Townsend, a penin¬ 
sula of the United States, in Lake Michigan, which separates 
Green bay from the other part of the lake; 23 leagues long, 
and from 1 to 3 broad, 
VE'RMIN, s. [vermis, Latin.] Any noxious animal. 
Used commonly for small creatures. 
What is your study;- 
—How to prevent the fiend, and to kill vermin. 
Skakspeare. 
It is used in contempt of human beings. 
The stars determine 
You are my prisoners, base vermin. Hudibras. 
To VE'RMINATE, v. n. To breed vermin—The seed 
of the serpent, and its verrninating principle. Biblioth. 
VERMINA'TION, s. Generation of vermin.—Redi dis¬ 
carding anomalous generation, tried experiments relating to 
the vermination of serpents and flesh. Derham. 
VE'RMINOUS, ad). Tending to vermin; disposed to 
breed vermin.—A wasting of children’s flesh depends upon 
some obstruction of the entrails, or verminous, disposition of 
the body. TIarvey. 
VERMI'PAROUS, ad). [ vermis and pario, Latin.] 
Producing worms.—Hereby they! confound the generation of 
vermiparous animals with oviparous. Brown. 
VERMO, a small town of Austrian Illyria, in the pro¬ 
vince of Istria, and district of Mitterburg; 21 miles west- 
south-west of Fiume. 
VERMONT, one of the United States, situated between 
42° 44' and 45° degrees of north latitude, and 3° 38' and 
5" 27' east longitude from Washington, is a mountainous and 
inland country. The boundary line that separates it from 
Canada on the north, is 90 miles long, and from Massachu¬ 
setts on the south, 40 miles. It has New York on the west, 
and New Hampshire on the east; and its mean length from 
north to south is 157 miles. The distance from the ocean to 
the nearest point of this state, is about 80 miles. Area 
10,237 square miles, or 6,551,680 acres. Contains the 
following counties:—Addison, Bennington, Caledonia, Chit¬ 
tenden, Essex, Franklin, Grand Isle, Orange, Orleans, Rut¬ 
land, Washington, Windham, Windsor. The Green moun¬ 
tains, from 10 to 15 miles in breadth, traverse the whole 
length of this state. These mountains begin in the province 
of Canada; from thence they extend through the states of 
Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, and terminate 
within a few miles of the sea-coast. Their general direction 
is from north-north-east to south-south-west; and their ex¬ 
tent is through a track of country not less than 400 miles in 
length. They run nearly parallel with the course of Con¬ 
necticut river, are intersected by numerous valleys, the soil 
of which is deep, rich and loamy. That of the hilly parts 
is also well adapted to pasturage, and other agricultural pur¬ 
poses. The most level track is on the borders of Canada. 
Adjoining the rivers are fine plains and meadows; and 
between the banks of Lake Champlain and the mountains# 
there is a. valuable track of arable land, extending 100 miles 
in length, and 30 in breadth. The whole surface in its 
natural state is thickly wooded. Along the banks of the 
rivers, the white oak, beech, and elm are abundant. The 
higher parts are covered wjth white oak, sugar-maple, butter¬ 
nut, ash, birch, &c.; and the mountains are clothed with 
evergreens to their highest summit. 
Near Lake Champlain, large trunks of trees have been 
found at the depth of 30 feet. In digging a well on a high 
ground near Onion river, frogs were discovered at nearly the 
same depth ; circumstances which indicate a change in the 
beds of these rivers, produced by some violent convulsion of 
nature. The highest summits of the Green mountains in 
Vermont, are Killington Peak, Camel’s Rump, and Mans¬ 
field mountains. Ascutney is a noted mountain on the east 
side of the state, south of Windsor. 
All the streams and rivers of Vermont have their origin 
among the Green mountains. About 35 of them have an 
easterly direction, and fall into Connecticut river. About 
25 run westerly, and discharge themselves into Lake Cham¬ 
plain. Two or three running in the same direction, fall 
into Hudson’s river. In the north-easterly parts of the state, 
there are four or five streams which have a northerly direc¬ 
tion, and run info the Lake Memphremagog; and thence 
through the river St. Francis, they are emptied into the river 
St. Lawrence. The most considerable streams on the west 
side of the Green mountains are Otter creek, Onion river, the 
river Lamoille, and Michiscoui. On the east side of the 
Green mountains, the rivers are not so large as those on the 
west; but they are more numerous. 
The climate is healthy, but subject to great extremes of 
heat and cold. The snow lies from the middle of December 
to the middle of March, during which period it is customary 
to travel in sledges. On the sides of the hills, it is often from 
two to four feet in depth. It disappears about the middle of 
April, except on the highest parts of the mountains, where 
it lies till May. It is generally permanent from the 10th or 
12th of December, to the beginning of April, when it sud¬ 
denly dissolves by the influence of a warm sun. In the low 
grounds, it is from one to two and a half feet deep, and 
remains till about the 20th of March. The temperature of 
deep wells is about 43^° throughout the year, which corres¬ 
ponds with the mean degree of heat deduced from thermo- 
metrical observations. The trees and shrubs put forth their 
buds from the 6th to the 20th April, and flower from the 1st 
to the close of May. Wheat and oats are sown about the 
middle of April, and are reaped about the middle of August. 
The frosts commence from the middle of September to the 
1st of October, and cease about the 20th of April or begin¬ 
ning of May. Notwithstanding the severity of winter, which 
is ten or eleven degrees colder than in the same latitude in 
Europe, young trees are seldom killed by the frost; and the 
cattle live in the woods. The weather during this season is 
generally fair and constant, and rain seldom falls, though hail 
is not unfrequent. Thunder and lightning are common in the 
months of May, June, July, and August; but seldom in the 
other months. The Aurora Borealis is the most common in 
the months of March, September, and October; but it is not 
unusual at other times of the year. 
Iron ore exists in great abundance on the west side of the 
Green mountains, and near Lake Champlain. The mines are 
worked at Tinmouth, Shaftesbury, Rutland, Shoreham, 
Monkton, and Milton. The Bog ore at the north end of 
Lake Champlain, the brown hematites at Monkton, and the 
magnetic Ore on the west side of the lake, are worked at the 
Vergennes furnaces. There are ores of lead at Thetford, and 
at Sunderland of copper, and of ochre red and yellow. Jas¬ 
per of a beautiful red colour has been lately discovered. 
Porcelain clay is found, which retains its white colour in the 
fire; also soapstone, slate, whinstone, clay for bricks, pipe¬ 
clay, and mill-stones, and marl in several places. There are 
two chalybeate springs, one at Orwee, near Mount Indepen¬ 
dence; anotherat Brid port, the waters of which are said to con¬ 
tain Epsom salt in great quantity ; another was discovered in 
1770 
