Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

and transports them to all parts of the

plant. This process takes about 10 days.

Then the leaf reopens.

#More to explore

Pitcher Plant • Plant

The Venus’s-flytrap has pairs of leaves that

look like toothy jaws.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Venus’s-flytrap 67

 

Vermont

The U.S. state of Vermont is

nicknamed the Green Mountain

State. The nickname comes from the

state’s central geographical feature, the

Green Mountains. Vermont’s name

comes from the French words for

“green” and “mountain”—vert and mont.

The state capital is Montpelier.

Geography

Vermont is located in the northeastern

corner of the United States in the region

known as New England. The state is

bordered on the north by the Canadian

province of Quebec and on the south by

Massachusetts. To the west is New York,

which is separated from northwestern

Vermont by Lake Champlain. The Connecticut

River forms Vermont’s border

with New Hampshire on the east.

The Green Mountains run down the

center of the state and cover most of the

land. These heavily forested highlands

are part of the Appalachian Mountain

range.Winters in Vermont are cold, and

summer days are rarely hot. Snowfall

can be very heavy, especially in the

mountains.

People

The earliest European settlers were Protestants

of English heritage. The state

remains populated largely by offspring

of the original settlers and of later immigrants

from Europe and Canada. Vermont’s

minority groups are very small.

African Americans, Asians, Hispanics,

and Native Americans together make up

only about 3 percent of the population.

Economy

The greatest portion of Vermont’s economic

earnings come from businesses

and organizations that provide services.

Some examples of major business ser-

The town of Stowe is a popular destination

for tourists to Vermont.

68 Vermont BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

vices are banking and finance, commercial

sales, and real estate. Tourism is also

an important service industry in Vermont.

Vermont’s manufacturers make electronic

equipment, metal products, and

foodstuffs. Semiconductor chips, a common

part in most electronic systems, are

produced in Vermont. IBM, one of the

world’s largest electronics companies,

has a manufacturing plant near Burlington.

IBM is Vermont’s leading employer.

Dairying has always been Vermont’s

main agricultural activity, and the state

is a major producer of milk. The icecream

maker Ben and Jerry’s is based in

Vermont. Vermont is a national leader in

the production of maple syrup and

maple sugar.

History

Abnaki Indians lived in the Vermont

region before the arrival of Europeans.

No permanent European settlement was

made until the French built a fort on

Isle La Motte in Lake Champlain in

1666. Both the Dutch and the British

established settlements in the area in the

1700s. In 1763 the British took control

of the area.

During the colonial era both New

Hampshire and New York claimed parts

of the Vermont region. In 1770 Ethan

Allen organized fighters known as the

Green Mountain Boys to drive the New

Yorkers from the region. In 1777 Vermont

declared itself independent of

both New Hampshire and New York.

Vermont remained independent until it

joined the Union in 1791.

Vermont remained loyal to the Union

during the American CivilWar (1861–

65). It was the site of the only CivilWar

action north of Pennsylvania. In 1864

soldiers from the Confederacy raided the

town of Saint Albans and robbed its

banks.

The farming community suffered as the

number of Vermont’s farms began to

decline after the CivilWar. Farms continued

to drop in the 1900s. In the

1930s the first ski runs were built in the

state. By the 1960s Vermont had a successful

winter tourist industry. In the

early 21st century hotels, restaurants,

and recreational sites were important

parts of Vermont’s economy.

..More to explore

Montpelier

Many people ski in the mountains of Vermont.

Facts About

VERMONT

Flag

Population

(2000 census)

608,827—rank,

49th state; (2008

estimate)

621,270—rank,

49th state

Capital

Montpelier

Area

9,614 sq mi

(24,901 sq km)—

rank, 45th state

Statehood

March 4, 1791

Motto

Freedom and

Unity

State bird

Hermit thrush

State flower

Red clover

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Vermont 69

 

Verne, Jules

The French author Jules Verne is known

as one of the first science fiction writers.

He wrote more than 50 novels and

many short stories.

Verne was born on February 8, 1828, in

Nantes, France. He studied law and

worked for a while as a stockbroker. But

he always considered himself to be a

writer. His first play was produced in

1850. His first successful adventure

story was FiveWeeks in a Balloon, which

was published in 1863.

Verne studied science to make his stories

as believable as possible. He knew so

much that he was able to imagine many

developments that would soon take

place in real life. In his novels and stories

he predicted wonders such as television,

airplanes, space travel, and modern submarines.

Verne’s most famous adventure novels

are probably Twenty Thousand Leagues

Under the Sea (1870) and Around the

World in Eighty Days (1873). Twenty

Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is the

story of Captain Nemo, a mysterious

wanderer who commands a marvelous