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VIRGILIA Leipsic, 1767-'75) upon which much labor was spent, and of this an improved edition, by G. P. E. Wagner, appeared in 1830-'41. Val- uable for their exhaustive critical apparatus and prolegomena are the later editions by Ribbeck (Leipsic, 1859-'66) and Forbiger (4th ed., Leipsic, 1873). The English notes of the editions by Oonington (London, 1858-'71), A. H. Bryce (new ed., London, 1875), and B. H. Kennedy (London, 1876) are also very com- plete. Dryden's translation of the ^Eneid (1697) is still very popular. Among the re- cent English versions are Conington's (1866), Oranch's (1872), and William Morris's (1876). A good translation of the Georgics and Bu- colics is Owgan's (1853). The chief author- ity for Virgil's life is a biography by Dona- tus. Commentaries were written on his works in ancient times, especially by Macrobius and Servius ; the latter is very valuable. VIRGILIA, a name given by Lamarck to a genus of south African leguminous trees, to which Michaux referred one of the finest of our North American trees, the yellow-wood, VIRGINIA 371 Virgilia or Yellow-wood (Cladrastis tinctoria). as Virgilia lutea. As the tree differs, espe- cially in its pods, from the Virgilia, Rafinesque made a new genus for it, calling it cladras- tis, the meaning of which remains unexplained ; the correct botanical name of the tree is cla- drastis tinctoria, but the nurserymen retain it in their catalogues as Virgilia. It rarely ex- ceeds 30 or 40 ft. in height, and a diameter of 12 in. The bark, even on old trees, is smooth, and the yellow heart wood readily imparts its color to water. The long leaves have 7 to 11 leaflets, the base of the petiole being expanded to cover the bud of the following year. The flowers, which appear when the tree is quite young, are in loose pendent racemes, 10 to 20 in. long, of the purest white, except a small yellowish spot in the centre of each, and have a slight fra- grance ; while they have the appearance of the flowers of the tribe papilionacece, their distinct stamens and other characters place the genus in the tribe sopJiorece. The pod, 3 to 4 in. long, is narrow, flat, and four- to six-seeded. The tree is hardy in the climate of Boston, there being a notably fine specimen in the botanic garden at Cambridge. Its moderate size well adapts it for lawn planting; it is interesting at all times, and when in flower is surpassingly beautiful. It is readily raised from seeds. VIRGINAL, a keyed and stringed instrument, now out of use, somewhat like the spinet, in shape like the pianoforte. Its compass was about four octaves. In the progress of piano- forte manufacture it succeeded the clavichord, brass wire replacing in its construction the cat- gut strings formerly used. The wires were set in vibration by a quill attached to the tongue of a piece of wood called a jack, which moved upward as the key was pressed down. It prob- ably derived its name from being much used in convents in accompanying hymns to the Virgin. VIRGINIA, one of the thirteen original states of the American Union, situated between lat. 36 31' and 39 27' N., and Ion. 75 13' and 83 37' W. Its greatest length from E. to W. is about 440 m., greatest breadth from N. to S. 192 m. ; area, according to the federal census, 38,348 sq. m. ; according to state authority, 45,000 sq. m. It is bounded N. by West Vir- ginia and Maryland, E. by Maryland and the Atlantic ocean, S. by North Carolina and Ten- nessee, and W. by Kentucky and West Vir- ginia. It is separated from Maryland on the northeast by the Potomac river. The state is divided into 99 counties, viz. : Accomack, Al- bemarle, Alexandria, Alleghany, Amelia, Am- herst, Appomattox, Augusta, Bath, Bedford, Bland, Botetourt, Brunswick, Buchanan, Buck- ingham, Campbell, Caroline, Carroll, Charles City, Charlotte, Chesterfield, Clarke, Craig, Culpeper, Cumberland, Dinwiddie, Elizabeth City, Essex, Fairfax, Fauquier, Floyd, Flu- vanna, Franklin, Frederick, Giles, Gloucester, Goochland, Grayson, Greene, Greenville, Hali- fax, Hanover, Henrico, Henry, Highland, Isle of Wight, James City, King and Queen, King George, King William, Lancaster, Lee, Lou- don, Louisa, Lunenburg, Madison, Matthews, Mecklenburg, Middlesex, Montgomery, Nanse- mond, Nelson, New Kent, Norfolk, Northamp- ton, Northumberland, Nottoway, Orange, Page, Patrick, Pittsylvania, Powhatan, Prince Ed- ward, Prince George, Princess Anne, Prince William, Pulaski, Rappahannock, Richmond, Roanoke, Rockbridge, Rockingham, Russell, Scott, Shenandoah, Smyth, Southampton, Spottsylvania, Stafford, Surry, Sussex, Taze- well, Warren, Warwick, Washington, West- moreland, Wise, Wythe, and York. The chief cities, with their population according to the census of 1870, are Richmond, the capital, 51,038; Alexandria, 13,570; Fredericksburg, 4,046; Lynchburg, 6,825; Norfolk, 19,229; Pe- tersburg, 18,950 ; Portsmouth, 10,492 ; Staun- ton, 5,120; Winchester, 4,447; and Williams- burg, 1,392. The chief towns are Charlottes- ville, with 2,838, near which is the university