  Static electrical and magnetic properties of single crystal BaVS_3 were
measured over the structural (T_S=240K), metal-insulator (T_MI=69K), and
suspected orbital ordering (T_X=30K) transitions. The resistivity is almost
isotropic both in the metallic and insulating states. An anomaly in the
magnetic anisotropy at T_X signals a phase transition to an ordered low-T
state. The results are interpreted in terms of orbital ordering and spin
pairing within the lowest crystal field quasi-doublet. The disordered insulator
at T_X<T<T_MI is described as a classical liquid of non-magnetic pairs.
