The Roman writers differ greatly in the amount of biographical information which they themselves give us, and Vergil forms a marked contrast in this respect to his friend and contemporary, Horace. This is doubtless due in part to the nature of the themes which he treated, but in part also to his natural modesty and shrinking from every form of publicity. Fortunately, however, besides allusions of a casual nature in the works of other Roman writers, three ancient biographies of the poet have come down to us. The best of these is that of Aelius Donatus, of the 4th century, which though distorted in some particulars, seems to be based upon good sources, and to give accurately the main details of Vergil's

life.

Vergil was born in the country, in a district called Andes, not far from the modern Pietola, three miles below Mantua on the river Mincio. His father was of humble origin, and is said by some to have been a potter, by others the hired laborer of one Magius. He married Magia Polla, the daughter of his employer, and finally became himself the owner of a small estate, from which he made a living by farming and bee-keeping. He prospered sufficiently to be able to give his son a thorough education, at first in the neighboring town of Cremona, and afterward at Naples and Rome. Of these opportunities Vergil took the fullest advantage. He was always a diligent student, and like Cicero made a thorough preparation for his life work. At Naples he took up the study of Grecian literature under Parthenius; at Rome he not only applied himself to the regular curriculum of rhetoric and philosophy, but besides studied medicine, mathematics, and natural philosophy. He seems to have owed most to the Epicurean Siro, through whom he probably became acquainted with the work of Lucre tius, by which he was strongly influenced, as was recognized by the ancient critics. He also acquired a love for philosophical speculation which lasted throughout his life and profoundly affected his literary work. Vergil is said to have suffered constantly from dyspepsia and headache, and his ill-health, as well as his retiring disposition and studious habits, turned him from the usual political or military career. He held no public office of any sort, and in fact spent little time in Rome, finding the milder climate of Campania and Sicily more congenial. He seems to have amassed a comfortable fortune from the liberality of his patrons, for in his later life he owned several country places and a house at Rome on the Esquiline Hill. He enjoyed the friendship of the most distinguished men of his day, both in the world of letters and in public life. He never married, and his name is associated neither by himself nor by others with any affairs of the heart. After the completion of his course of study at Rome, we lose sight of Vergil completely for about ten years. It seems probable that he retired to his native place, and busied himself with the management of his paternal estate and with study. This quiet life was rudely interrupted after the battle of Philippi in 42 B.C. His es tate was included in the proscriptions which were made in Cisalpine Gaul for the benefit of the veterans of Antony and Octavian, and he is said to have had a narrow escape from death at the hands of one of the soldiers. The

details of the affair are confused and uncertain. We know, however, that Vergil went to Rome to appeal for protection, where he made the acquaintance of Mæcenas and of Octavian. He was unable to recover his property, but seems to have been given another estate, perhaps the one which he is known to have owned near Nola in Campania. His visit to the capital had, however, much more important consequences, which influenced his whole future life. He became a member of the literary circle which Mæcenas had gathered about himself, to which he was afterward the means of introducing Horace, and through the generosity of his patron was enabled to devote all his time to literary work and to study. In the year 19 B.C. Vergil undertook a journey to Greece and Asia Minor, with the intention of revising the Aeneid," of which he had made a preliminary draft, and then devoting the rest of his life to his favorite philosophical studies. At Athens he met Augustus, who persuaded him to return with him to Italy. Vergil had contracted a fever from exposure to the sun at Megara, and was ill when he embarked. He died shortly after landing at Erundisium, and was buried near Naples. The exact location of his tomb is a matter of uncertainty.

We know something of the poet's personal appearance from the description of Donatus. According to him Vergil was large of frame and dark complexioned, and had a certain air of rusticity. This description tallies with the authentic portraits which we possess, which form a very small part of the great number which bear his name. The best are two mosaics, one discovered at Trier in 1884, the other at Susa in Africa in 1896. In character he was gentle and lovable, and so extremely modest, that he is said to have taken refuge in the nearest shop or doorway to avoid notice..

Although Vergil, like nearly all of the great writers of his nation, was born outside of Rome, he is one of the most patriotic and intensely Roman of all his countrymen. He belongs with Horace to the national school; for, though, unlike his friend, he was strongly influenced by the Alexandrine Greek writers, to whom he was introduced by Parthenius during his studies at Naples, he drew from them only what was best in their work and avoided their defects. He owes to them the cosmopolitan tone which has made him popular with all nations and all ages, and his mastery in the treatment of the passion of love. He is not an Alexandrine in the sense in which that term is ordinarily used, but like Cicero developed a characteristic style of his own.

The first undoubtedly genuine work of Vergil which has been preserved is a collection of ten pastoral poems, called variously the Eclogues' (Ecloga) and the 'Bucolics) (Bucolica). These were probably composed between the years 43 and 37 and are the first Roman representatives of that branch of poetical literature. They were, however, far from being an original creation, but on the contrary are modeled on the 'Idyls of Theocritus with a closeness of imitation which is rare even among Roman writers. The names of the characters are in most cases taken from the Greek original, and the landscape has nothing which suggests the scenes amid which Vergil passed his early life, but is throughout Sicilian. And yet the genius

of the poet succeeded in impressing itself on this early work, and it has always justly been given a high rank in the history of Roman literature. The Eclogues' fall into two distinct classes, each represented by five poems, the purely pastoral pieces, which sing of various phases of the life of the idealized shepherd, especially contests in song; and the allegorical poems, which introduce the poet himself and his contemporaries in the guise of shepherds. The latter are naturally the more original, and they are also by far the more difficult of interpretation. The most widely known of all is probably the 4th Eclogue, which celebrates the birth of a child, about whose identity there is a difference of opinion, who is to bring back the Golden Age to Italy. It owes its renown in a great measure to the belief, which became current in the Middle Ages, that it was a prophecy of the coming of the Messiah.

Vergil's next work dealt also with the country life with which he was so familiar and loved so much. Mæcenas and Augustus are said to have suggested to him the writing of a poem on agriculture, in the hope of making farm life more attractive to the people of Italy, but the poet must have required little urging to induce him to take up a subject so congenial. He had an abundance of material at hand to draw on among the Greek writers, and the topic had been a favorite one with the Romans as well, though it had not as yet been treated in verse. Vergil expressly acknowledges his obligations to Hesiod, but he owes more to the Alexandrine writers Nicander and Aratus. In four books he writes of the management of fields, the growing of trees, the rearing of horses and cattle, and bee-keeping. He avoids with great skill the dryness of a didactic work by the introduction of such digressions as the praise of spring, and by a general lightness of touch which gives an attractive form even to the most commonplace details. He composed slowly and with loving care, and polished his language and versification to the highest degree of refinement. The Georgics' have justly been called the most finished poem in the Latin language, and Addison even calls it the most finished of all poems.

After the publication of the Georgics) in 29, Vergil set about the greater task of writing a national epic. This was a plan which he seems to have formed early in life and for which he had been preparing for many years. He was forced against his own judgment to take it up thus early by urgent requests from Augustus and Mæcenas. In this field he had not the advantage of being a pioneer, for Nævius, in his Bellum Punicum, and more particularly Ennius in his Annales' had treated of the early history of Rome in this way. The latter had connected the destiny of Rome with that of Troy, and his epic was regarded as a great achievement. Vergil could hardly depart radically from the plan of his great predecessor, but he surpassed him not only in finish of style, but also by introducing the philosophical reflection and the breadth of treatment which distinguish history from mere chronicle. He made very free use of the works of his predecessors, and among the Greeks not only of the Iliad' and the Odyssey, but of the Cyclic poets and of Apollonius of Rhodes. The proud boast of Propertius, nescio quid maius nascitur Iliade,

as well as the subject of the epic, at once challenged a comparison with the Homeric poems which was freely accepted in antiquity; but in modern times this has been detrimental to Vergil's fame. The comparison is unfair, because the Aeneid) and the Homeric poems really represent different types of the epic. The primitive epic, of which the Iliad' and the Odyssey' are unrivaled specimens, is not represented in Roman literature and is foreign to the Roman national character. The works of Nævius and Ennius, as well as those of Vergil and the later Roman epic writers, are of the historical type, and in this field the supremacy of Vergil is almost universally recognized. While the Homeric poems represent the gradual accumulations of generations of singers, the 'Aeneid' was composed as a complete work of art, with a definite purpose, the glorification of Rome and of the Julian house. The introduction of the gods of the Greek pantheon is in the nature of "epic machinery," since Vergil's generation had no faith in them, and the poet himself was doubtless too much influenced by Lucretius, and by his philosophical studies in general, to be an exception to the prevailing skepticism. At the same time his nature was reverent and religious, and a desire to effect a revival of the old Roman piety doubtless formed part of his plan and was thoroughly in accordance with the wishes of his patrons. The Aeneid' describes the wanderings and adventures of Aeneas from the time of the fall of Troy until the establishment of his destined empire in Latium. In accordance with the regular rule of epic composition the poet plunges at once in medias res, and begins his tale with the sixth year of the voyage of his hero. The story of the earlier years is told graphically by Aeneas himself at Dido's court in Carthage. While the greatness of the poem can only be fully appreciated when it is studied as a whole, it is more generally known in part; the last six books, though full of beautiful episodes, are less generally read because of the numerous and somewhat monotonous battle scenes which epic tradition demanded of the poet, in which he is not at his best. Probably the most widely known part of the poem is the episode of Dido, which forms a complete epic tragedy, and bears witness to the poet's familiarity with the masterpieces of Greek drama. The unhappy Carthaginian queen, like Aeneas, had her mission to perform and her empire to establish, but her plans were forced to give way before the mightier destiny of Aeneas. Through the wiles of Venus, which even Juno's power cannot thwart, she falls in love with the Trojan hero, and strives to detain him in Carthage. He finally leaves her in obedience to the command of Jupiter, and Dido slays herself as his ships are passing out of sight. As she dies, she prays that there may be eternal hatred between Carthage and Rome, and the long and bloody struggle which ended in the destruction of the city which she founded forms the sequel to the tragedy. These wars furnished a motive for a great historical epic, which, however, found no worthier poet than the painstaking but insipid Silius Italicus, of the time of Nero and his successors. The desertion of Dido by Aeneas finds little sympathy with the modern reader, and the "pious Aeneas" appears in many respects a somewhat pitiful hero, but from the

ancient point of view his action was justifiable and even praiseworthy, due as it was to submission to the will of the gods. Vergil intends Aeneas to be the representative of the old Roman virtues, steadfastness of purpose, endurance, fidelity to a trust, courage, and rever ence for the gods. It is to the last quality especially, together with his devotion to his father, that he owes his epithet of pius. To the Roman reader he was the champion of civilization against barbarism, represented by Turnus and his godless associates. So far as the form of the poem is concerned, we see in it Vergil's growing mastery of the heroic hexameter, and the results of his long years of study and training, and we may note an advance even in the progress of the work itself. It is the hexameter of the 'Aeneid' which deserves above all others the praise, "the stateliest measure ever molded by the lips of man."

But Vergil himself was conscious that he had not realized the ideal of his youthful days. In a letter to Augustus of the year 26, in answer to a request to see the poem or at least some part of it, he writes that he feels that he has been mad to undertake so great a task. A few years later, however, he was ready to read three books to the emperor, including the 6th, in which he inserted the tribute to the young Marcellus, contained in verses 860-886. It is said that Octavia, who was present, fainted as Vergil finished his effective rendering of these beautiful lines, and afterward presented the poet with 10,000 sesterces (about $500) for each verse of the memorial to her son. This story confirms in a general way the statement of Suetonius about Vergil's method of composing the Aeneid.' He is said first to have written a version in prose, and to have turned it into verse in no special order; and he seems to have followed the same plan in putting the finishing touches to his work. That he never completed the latter process is evident from various inconsistencies which appear in the poem, and more particularly, since absolute consistency is not demanded of a poet, from the numerous incomplete and less polished lines. It is shown also by his project of a three years' tour amid the scenes of his earlier books, and by the fact that on his deathbed he gave directions that the Aeneid' should be destroyed. This request was fortunately not granted, but Augustus had the work published, with only such revision as was absolutely necessary, by the poet's friends Varius and Tucca.

Besides the works of Vergil which are undoubtedly genuine, there have come down to us under his name a number of lesser poems: the 'Culex,' 'Ciris,' 'Moretum,' Diræ, Aetna, and the 'Copa,' together with a collection of shorter pieces, called 'Catalepton' (minor poems). Donatus and Servius attribute poems with these titles to Vergil; and Lucan, Statius, and Martial mention a 'Culex' of Vergil. It is certain that the Aetna' and the 'Diræ' are not his work, a fact which in itself discredits the testimony of the grammarians; as regards the rest there is a difference of opinion. The majority of scholars are inclined to regard nearly all these poems as spurious, assuming that they were collected and attributed to Vergil in the time of Nero, a view which disposes of all the ancient testimony, except perhaps that of Lucan. It is argued besides that some of

them are unworthy of the author of the 'Georgics' and the Aeneid,' an objection to which too much weight should not be given, while some, though not open to that charge, are in a manner wholly unlike that of Vergil as we know him. The arguments which have been based on certain metrical features of the poems seem to have little force. Just at present there is a growing tendency to claim these works for Vergil, and while the evidence in his favor cannot be said to be very strong, the same thing may be said of the contrary testimony. It is not likely that unanimity of opinion on this point will ever be reached.

Vergil's fame among his countrymen was immediate and permanent. He was hailed as the Roman Homer, and the efforts of a few jealous rivals to depreciate him were of no avail. His influence on the later Roman_poetry was marked, notably on Persius, Silius, Statius, Ausonius, and Prudentius. The same thing is true of the later prose, for example, that of Livy and Tacitus. The Aeneid' was used as a text-book in the Roman schools as early as the days of Juvenal, and was made the subject of grammatical and stilistic commentaries by numerous writers. The writers of the decline not only imitated him freely, but introduced the custom of writing Vergilian centos, by arranging lines and half lines from his works in such a way as to give a sense entirely different from the original. This became a regular form of literary production, and they were even improvised. Among the Christians the works of Vergil escaped the general condemnation of the pagan literature, and he was believed to have received some measure of divine inspiration. From the Renaissance to the present time his influence on the poets of most European countries has been great. Dante, Chaucer, Spenser, Milton, and Tennyson, as well as many others, bear testimony to their acquaintance with Vergil; and his poems, especially the Aeneid,' have been translated into all the principal languages of Europe. It is only in comparatively recent times that the searching methods of modern criticism, especially in Germany, have brought Vergil's fame into question, and his detractors and his champions have in many cases shown equal lack of discrimination. The most common charges brought against him are those of inferiority to the Homeric poems and of lack of originality. The former point has already been discussed; in considering the latter we must bear in mind that the ancient ideas about literary work differed decidedly from those of our own day, and that wholesale borrowing from the work of one's predecessors was not considered to be at all improper. Furthermore Vergil had the power which all great writers have, of making what he borrowed his own; and, a thing which may be regarded as the supreme test, he not only imitated, but he was able to inspire imitation.

Besides the Vergil of history there is a mythical Vergil, singularly unlike the original. In comparatively early times the ancient biog raphers associated prodigies, prophetic of his future greatness, with his birth, and the adoption of his works by the grammarians as canons of usage gave him a reputation for vast learning. This feeling brought about the custom as early as the 2d century of consulting the sortes Vergiliana, by opening the Aeneid' at ran

dom and drawing an omen from the words of the first passage on which the eye fell, a custom which that work has shared only with the Homeric poems and the Bible. As early as the days of Silius Italicus we see traces of a Vergilian cult, for the younger Pliny tells us that Silius made annual pilgrimages to Vergil's tomb, and kept his birthday with more ceremony than he did his own. A special series of legends of a most grotesque character grew up among the common people of Naples, who with an entire disregard of chronology and of historical truth associated his name with many marvelous inventions and with numerous undignified and disreputable adventures. These two streams of tradition united and found their way into the romantic literature of the Middle Ages, and even into works of a more serious character. They have given us the mythical Vergil, the necromancer and ally of the powers of darkness. His name was in consequence associated in the popular mind with virga, a magician's "wand," which led to the spelling Virgilius, and hence to our Virgil.

As regards the spelling of the poet's name, the Latin form Vergilius is established beyond question by inscriptional and other evidence as the only one until the 5th century. In English, Virgil was the current form until comparatively recent times, when Vergil was introduced in common with a general reform in the spelling of Greek and Latin proper names; this is the usual form in Germany. In England and in this country both forms are used, as may be seen from the biographical list given below.

The first printed edition of Vergil was published at Rome about 1469. Since then there have been many editions in all countries. The standard critical text is that of O. Ribbeck, Leipsic, 1859-68 (containing the famous prolegomena) and 1894-5 (without the prolegomena). The best edition in English is on the whole that of J. Conington, revised by H. Nettleship (4th ed., 1881-3). Of translations, which are numerous, may be mentioned those of Conington of the Aeneid' into prose (1872), and into verse (1873); of R. D. Blackmore, the well-known novelist, of the Georgics) (1871); and of C. S. Calverly, of the Eclogues, published in the Works (1901).

For further information consult: C. A. Sainte Beuve, 'Etude sur Virgile' (1870); W. L. Collins, Virgil, in Ancient Classics for English Readers (Philadelphia 1878); Nettleship, Ancient Lives of Vergil ((Oxford 1879), and 'Lectures and Essays (Oxford 1885); J. S. Tunison, Master Virgil' (Cincinnati 1888); R. Y. Tyrrell, Latin Poetry (New York 1895); D. Comparetti, Virgilio nel medio evo (2d ed., Florence 1896); (English translation of the first edition, Vergil in the Middle Ages,' by E. F. M. Benecke, London 1895); J. W. Mackail, 'Latin Literature) (New York 1895); G. Boissier, The Country of Horace and Virgil' (New York 1896); W. Y. Sellar, Roman Poets of the Augustan Age-Virgil' (3d ed., Oxford 1897); F. W. H. Meyers, Essays Classical' (London 1897); C. G. Leland, 'The Unpublished Legends of Virgil (New York 1899); F. J. Miller and J. R. Nelson, 'Dido, an Epic Tragedy (Chicago 1900).

JOHN C. ROLfe, Professor of Latin Language and Literature, University of Pennsylvania.

Vergniaud, věrn-yō, Pierre Victurnien, French orator: b. Limoges 31 May 1753; d. Paris 31 Oct. 1793. He settled as an advocate at Bordeaux in 1781, and quickly gained a large practice, and was elected a deputy to the National Assembly in 1791. His eloquence and the charm of his personality soon made him the leader of the Girondists, but he cared little for political intrigue, and was rather the orator than the statesman. Representing in the Convention the department of the Gironde, he supported in the question of the king's trial, the proposal of Salle to make an appeal to the people. When the decisive moment came he voted for death, and as president it was his duty to announce the result. He opposed Robespierre and the party of the Mountain, but the Girondist party fell 2 June 1793, and on 31 October he was guillotined, the last of the 21 who died together. Consult: Lamartine, History of the Girondists (1847); Vatel, Vergniaud: Manuscrits, lettres et papiers (1875); Aulard, Les Orateurs de la Législative et de la Convention' (Vol. I.); the Lives by Touchard-Lafosse (1848), and Verdière (1866); H. M. Stephens, The Principal Speeches of the Statesmen and Orators of the French Revolution' (1892).

Verhas, vĕr-häs', Jan, Belgian painter: b. Termende 1834. He was educated in his native town and under Nicaise de Keyrer, whose painting school at Antwerp he attended. Among his works may be mentioned: On the Landing Bridge at Blankenberyhe) (1885) and The Inundation.' He is one of the leading genre painters of the modern Belgian school.

Verjuice, a kind of vinegar containing malic acid and made from unripe grapes and from the juice of crab-apples.

Verkolje, Johannes, Dutch painter: b. Amsterdam, Netherlands, 9 Feb. 1550; d. Delft, Netherlands, 8 May 1693. He was a pupil of Jan Livens, who, finding him possessed of ability, set him to finish some uncompleted pictures of Ghorardt von Zeijl, with the result that later an original painting of Verkolje's was mistaken for one of Zeijl's. The influence of Livens is not shown in Verkolje's work. He settled in Delft in 1672. His work for the greater part consists of portraits, though he painted in his leisure various mythological and historical subjects. His work includes: Mother and Child,' Louvre; Lady and Trumpeter) (1678), Dresden Galley; 'Cupid and Psyche, Liechtenstein Gallery, Vienna; Vertumnus and Pomona' (1678), Wörlitz Gallery; etc.

Verlaine, vĕr-lan, Paul, French poet: b. Metz, Lorraine, 30 March 1844; d. Paris 8 Jan. 1896. He was one of the earliest and most prominent of the so-called "Symbolistes." Among his first works were 'Poèmes Saturniens (1865); 'Les Fêtes Galantes' (1869); and La Bonne Chanson' (1870). His next volumes (Sagesse (1881) and Les Poètes Inaudits' (1884), a volume of literary criticism, were followed by Jadis et Naguère) (1885); Romances sans Paroles' (1887); 'Amour (1888); 'Bonheur) (1889); and Parallèlement' (1890); Dedicaces (1894); and Confessions: Notes Autobiographiques' (1895). He has been said to have introduced new possibilities of rhythm into French as a poetic medium. Consult: Lemaitre, Les Contemporains, and the study by Morice (1894).

Vermeer, Johannes, yō-hän'něs fĕr-mār' (wrongly termed JAN VAN DER Meer of DELFT), Dutch painter: b. Delft 31 Oct. 1632; d. there 15 Dec. 1675. He was a pupil of Leonard Bramer and of Fabricius and painted landscapes, architectural views, with special care in the painting of figures to people such scenes. He also produced some portraits and genre pictures. While during his lifetime he filled a large place in the contemporary art world and was dean of the Guild of Saint Luke at Delft, twenty years after his death he was almost forgotten, and omitted from Dutch and French 'Lives of Painters,' his very name up to 1816 being confounded with that of three other Dutch artists (Van der Meers). It has been ascertained that his father was Janssoon Vermeer, and written documents amply prove that his pictures were sold at a high price at a time when Rembrandt became bankrupt and poverty prevailed in Holland. One of Vermeer's finest works is A View of Delft) (now at The Hague); A Dutch Town' (crowded with fig ures) which was sold in 1872 for $1,785; and among his genres may be mentioned "The Musical Party; The Guitar-player'; and 'Young Woman with her Servant.'

Vermejo, věr-mā'hō, or Bermejo, an affluent of the Paraguay. See BERMEJO.

Vermes, vér'mēz, a class-name in the system of Linnæus under which he grouped as "worms" all the lower invertebrate animals except the arthropods (his "Insecta"). The varied components of this heterogeneous or omnibus group were first separated by Lamarck, and later have been still more minutely classified, as increased knowledge dictated until now the old Linnæan "class" is found to consist of nine phyla, and only a small proportion retains the name "worms," while "Vermes" has disappeared altogether as a scientific term.

Vermicelli, vér-mi-sěl'i or See MACARONI.

vér-mi-chěl'i.

Vermiculites, a name given to quite a large group of micaceous minerals. The name is derived from the Latin vermiculari, "to breed worms," and has been applied because of the peculiar property of exfoliation which they possess. Some of the vermiculites exhibit this property in a very striking manner, unfolding when slowly heated, into curious curled filaments whose resemblance to worms seems more than fanciful. They are all hydrous silicates, formed by the alteration of the micas, chiefly biotite and phlogopite. They generally retain the eminent micaceous cleavage and pearly lustre of the original mineral. The lamina are usually flexible, but not elastic. Included in the group are the minerals vermiculite, jefferisite,

and over a dozen others.

Vermiform Appendix. See APPENDICITIS. Vermigli, věr-mēg'lē, Pietro Martire. See PETER MARTYR.

Vermilion, the name given to a pigment of a bright red color, obtained from crystallized mercuric sulphide. It is generally prepared by subliming the ordinary sulphide, and may be used with water or oil but not with enamel.

Vermillion, S. D., city, county-seat of Clay County; on the Missouri River at the mouth of the Vermillion, and on the Chicago, Milwaukee & Saint Paul Railroad; about 34 miles north

west of Sioux City, and 28 miles southeast Yankton. It was settled in 1859 by a colony from the Eastern States, and was incorporated in 1877. It is in an agricultural and stock-raising region. The chief manufactures are flour, wagons, sash, doors, and blinds, and dairy products. There is considerable trade in farm products and live stock. The principal public buildings are the county court-house, the opera house, and the school houses. There are seven churches. The educational institutions are the State University (q.v.), a high school, founded in 1880; Saint Agnes' Academy, public and parish schools, and a public library. The two banks have a combined capital of $100,000. The average amount of business annually is $700,000. The government is vested in a mayor and a council of eight members, elected biennially. Pop. (1910) 2,187.

Vermin, a relative term, comparable to "weed," signifying an animal obnoxious in some particular to human plans or operations. Animals may be regarded as vermin in one place which in another would be classed as innocent keepers all the weasel tribe or even beneficial. Thus among English game- stoats, polecats, and weasels — are typical vermin, because they kill game and eat eggs of preserved pheasants, etc., whereas in America they are regarded as useful fur- bearers; and in the United States rats, mice and the various "gophers" are the animals which mostly fall into the class. Rats and mice, especially field mice, may increase in such numbers as to destroy large quantities of grain, and thus become decidedly destructive vermin, while serious loss may also be caused to the farmer by hares and burrowing groundsquirrels, etc., especially in the Western States. Among birds, some of the hawks (see HENHAWKS) and owls are occasionally destructive to poultry and game; but as they feed chiefly on insects and mice, they are on the whole beneficial to man by repressing animals which are far more typically named vermin than themselves.

In the economy of nature a balance of power is rigidly observed, and in the maintenance of such a balance the so-called vermin play an important part. The lemmings (q.v.) present an instance of how the equilibrium is naturally restored. It is rarely needful or wise, at any rate with reference to birds and small mammals, for man to interfere when a case, like that of the prairie-dogs (q.v.) of the western United States arises; where repression is necessary, it is usually the result of previous human interference with nature's arrangements. Agriculturists are beginning to recognize that the birds which visit their fields are of extreme value in the repression of the insects and their larvæ which feed on the tender shoots of the grain. And even admitting that the fields may occasionally suffer from the visitation of common birds, the damage inflicted thereby is but trifling, when compared with their services in repressing the insect species. Even the much be a thorough fertilizer of the ground, and the persecuted mole has been shown by Darwin to earthworm itself acts in this way also. Both animals, in fact, by their operations in turning over the soil, in bringing fresh layers to the surface, and in breaking the clods, tend to open up the ground, and thus to ensure favorable conditions for the germination of the seed. And