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Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1842, by

ZADOCK THOMPSON,

in the Clerk's office of the District Court, for the District of Vermont.

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PREFACE.

EVER since the publication of his Gazetteer of Vermont in 1824, the author has contemplated a larger work, which should embrace, not only the Gazetteer, but a general History of the state, both Natural and Civil. He accordingly commenced collecting and laying aside materials for that purpose, and during the four years last past, he has devoted the greater part of his time to the preparation and publication of the work. His means and facilities for the researches and investigations in which he has been engaged, have not been such as he could have wished; but he has endeavored to improve these, such as they were, to the best advantage; and now, through the blessing of a kind Providence, he is enabled to lay before his fellow citizens the result of his labors. That his work, embracing, as it does, subjects so multifarious and dissimilar, has many imperfections, he is fully sensible; but he ventures to indulge the hope that it may be found to answer the reasonable expectations of all, and especially of those who can duly appreciate the labor and difficulties of a work of this kind.

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For convenience in printing, the three several parts into which the work is divided, have been separately paged, and, to the two first parts, separate indices have been prepared. On account of the alphabetical arrangement of the third part, an index to that was thought to be unnecessary.

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Part First is devoted to the Natural History of the state, and is almost wholly the result of original investigations. The only general account of our Natural History, which has hitherto been published, is that contained in Dr. Williams' History. Though highly interesting and useful, that account was prepared at a period and under circumstances which necessarily rendered it imperfect, and in many respects Misled by the vulgar names, and depending upon the representations of the hunters, he has in, perhaps, a majority of cases, applied the scientific names of European animals to ours, which, though bearing considerable resemblance to them, are specifically distinct. The first chapter of this part contains the result of several years' meteorological observations made by the author at Burlington, and also of observations made at several other places within the state. Some new views will also be found here respecting the formation of ice, earthquakes, the cause of the coldness of our climate compared with that of Europe, &c. The descriptions in the four following chapters have been nearly all made by the author, directly from Vermont animals. In some cases, where Vermont specimens could not be procured, and the animal was known to exist in the state, a borrowed description has been introduced, but in all such cases the source from which it was derived has been indicated, by placing the name of the author at the close of the description. In making out his account of the Birds, he was much assisted by a list of Vermont Birds, kindly furnished by Dr. THOMAS M. BREWER, of Boston; and in determining several species of Reptiles and Fishes, he has been kindly aided by Dr. D. H. STORER, also of Boston. For the full descriptions of our Molluscous Animals, in the sixth chapter, he is indebted to the kindness of Prof. C. B. ADAMS, of Middlebury College, and the full and excellent Catalogue of Vermont Plants has been

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