Orion

the females and young are of more sober hue. These birds are migratory, departing during the winter to the milder climate of the tropics. They are among the most brilliant of spring songsters, and make themselves at home in village streets and gardens, nesting by preference in elms, at the tips of whose swaying branches they weave their bag-like cradle-nests with consummate skill. In the western and southwestern parts of the country several other very similar species occur, and display similar beauty and manner of life. While mainly insectivorous, these birds eat in summer and autumn much small fruit, and often do considerable damage in vineyards. A closely related but chestnut and brown species is the orchard oriole, which, however, makes a nest more basket-like than baglike, and usually puts it in appletree or roadside maple. Other near relations are the large hangnests or caciques of the American tropics. The tree orioles, from whom the icterine American orioles derive their name, golden, yellow birds of the Old World, forming the family Oriolida, renowned for their flute-like notes. The golden oriole of Europe (Oriolus galbula) is a typical example. They construct elaborate and beautiful nests, suspended by the rim in the fork of a tree. All books of ornithology have much to say of these beautiful and interesting families.

are

Orion, an ancient constellation associated with Osiris by the ancient Egyptians. It comprises three splendid stars-Rigel, Betelgeux, and Bellatrix. Nearly all the brighter stars in Orion are of early helium type, and this peculiarity may be related to the nebulous state of the constellation. Suitably taken photographs exhibit Huygens's 'hiatus' as only the nucleus of a far-spreading spiral formation, probably

an

outlier of the Milky Way; and this, with other circumstances, implies that the constellation

VOL. IX.-7

97

forms, in the main, a physical unit of colossal proportions. A remarkable collection of about eighty variable stars, densely strewn over the conspicuously nebulous area near the trapezium, was detected by Professor Pickering and Dr. Max Wolf in 1904.

Orion, in ancient Greek legend, was a giant and a mighty hunter. Having been blinded because of his treatment of Merope, daughter of Enopion of Chios, an oracle told him that if the rays of the rising sun fell on his eyeballs he would recover his sight. After his sight was restored he lived as a hunter with Artemis. After his death he was placed in the heavens as a constellation.

Oriskany, BATTLE OF. In American history, a battle fought Aug. 7, 1777, near Oriskany, New York. While marching to the relief of Fort Schuyler, which was besieged by the British and Indians, eight hundred to a thousand militia under Gen. Nicholas Herkimer (q.v.) were ambushed by about the same number of Loyalists under Col. John Butler and of Iroquois Indians under Joseph Brant (q.v.). At first the Americans were thrown into confusion, but soon adopted Indian tactics and maintained their ground until a sortie from the fort recalled the opposing forces. General Herkimer was mortally wounded, 200 Americans were killed and as many more taken prisoners. The British loss in killed was about the same. Though not a decisive victory for the Americans, the contest was important, in that it prevented the sending of reinforcements to General Burgoyne. See Halsey, The Old New York Frontier (1901) and Stone, Life of Joseph Brant (2 v. 1838, reprinted 1864).

Oriskany Formation, named from Oriskany, N. Y., is a thin sandstone formation of great persistence in the Appalachian region. It varies from a few feet at many places in N. Y. to over two hundred in Md. and Va. It belongs to the Lower Devonian and is the first formation above the Helderbergian series. The formation is traced into the Mississippi Valley. The fossils are more than half brachiopods and are remarkable for their size. Spirifer arenosus, Stropheodonta magnifica, Rennselaria ovoides, and Hipparionyx proximus, all reaching sizes of two to four inches, are characteristic forms.

Orissa, former Hindu kingdom, now a prov. of S. W. Bengal, India, consisting of a low fertile coast plain traversed by the Mahanadi, Brahmani, and Baitarani, backed by forest-clad hills. The British districts of Puri, Cuttack, and Balasor, with Angul, occupy 9,853 sq. m. of the

Orkney Islands

coast plain, with a population (1901) of 4,343,150; the sixteen tributary states, occupying the hills towards the Central Provinces, cover 14,387 sq. m., with a population of 1,947,802. Cuttack is the capital, Balasor is the seaport, and Puri has a worldwide fame because of its temple of Jagannath.

Orizaba, tn., state of Vera Cruz, Mex., 70 m. w.s.w. of Vera Cruz, on the Mex. R. R. It is a favorite resort for Mexicans and travellers because of its fine, though tropic, climate and beautiful scenery. It lies in a broad valley at an elevation of 4,025 ft., and is partly surrounded by high mountains. Its chief products are sugar, cotton, flour and tobacco. The Rio Blanco furnishes power for many of the cotton and flour mills and other manufactories. It is one of the oldest towns in America, and in 1457 was taken by Montezuma I. It was formerly the capital, and was occupied by the French in 1862. Population (1900) 32,894.

Orizaba, PEAK OF, or CITLALTEPETL (the 'Star Mountain'), a dormant or extinct volcanic mountain of Mexico, on the border line between the states of Puebla and Vera Cruz, and on the edge of the table-land 20 m. N. by w. of the town of Orizaba. It is the most lofty summit in the republic, and the next to the highest mountain in North America, for its elevation of 18,250 feet is surpassed only by that of Mt. McKinley in Alaska. The timber-line, consisting of oak and pine, extends to between 13,500 and 14,000 feet. The summit is perpetually covered with a deposit of snow and ice and has several minor glaciers, one of which is El Corte. It was ascended for the first time in 1848 by two Americans, Maynard and Reynolds. The summit crater, several hundred feet in diameter, still emits sulphurous fumes. The last eruptive period, however, occurred about the middle of the sixteenth century (1545-1566).

Orkney Islands, a group of isls. off the N. coast of Scotland, separated from the mainland by the Pentland Firth. In all nearly thirty are inhabited. The largest, Pomona or Mainland, contains Kirkwall, the capital, and Stromness, the only towns in the group. The country, except in Hoy, is low, being a continuation of the Old Red Sandstone plain of Caithness. Agriculture, fishing, and wool manufactures are the chief industries. The Orkneys were subdued in 875 A.D. by Harold Haarfager, first king of Norway, and were ruled by Scandinavian jarls down to 1231, and in 1468 were pledged to the Scottish crown. The inhabitants

mill, and a sugar mill. It is best known, however, for its fruitgrowing industry and for its popularity as a tourist resort. The first settlement here was made in 1876, and the city was incorporated in 1885. Pop. (1900) 2,481.

Orleans, chief tn. of French dep. Loiret, on r. bk. of Loire, 75 m. by rail s.s.w. of Paris. It contains the only Gothic cathedral built since the middle ages (1601). The Hôtel-de-Ville (1530) is worth notice, as are the museum (15th century), and the houses of Joan of Arc and Agnes Sorel. Being a bridge-place on the highroad to Paris, and on the navigable Loire (which is connected by the Orleans and Loing Canal with the Seine), Orleans is a place of commercial importance; it has also small industries of cottons, linen, and leather. The Celtic Genabum, Orleans was renamed by the Romans (c. 272) Civitas Aureliani. Attila besieged it (451); the Northmen sacked it twice (855 and 865); and the raising of the English siege in 1429 shed lustre on the name of Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orleans. Here died the Earl of Salisbury (1429); Francis II., husband of Mary of Scotland; and Francis of Guise, murdered in 1563 by a Huguenot. Pop. (1901) 67,311. Orleans, city, Harlan co., Neb., 43 m. s.s.w. of Kearney, on the Republican R., and on the Chi., Burl. and Quin. R. R. The Orleans Free Methodist College is situated here. The city has large flour mills and steam grain-elevators. It is located in a farming and grazing district. It was settled in 18?. Pop. (1900) 656; est. (1906) 1,200.

Orleans, ISLE OF, Montgomery co., Que., Canada, in the St.

Orleans

Lawrence R. Its s. extremity is 30 m. N.E. of the city of Quebec. It is very popular as a summer resort. Several villages are located on the island, the soil of which is very productive. Fruitgrowing figures prominently as an industry. The island is 100 m. long, with an area of 69 sq. m. Some parts of it are covered with large forests. In 1759, prior to the siege of Quebec, General Wolfe camped here with his forces. Pop. 5,000.

Orleans, DUKE OF, a title borne by three separate lines of French princes of royal blood. The first Duke of Orleans was PHILIP, Son of King Philip VI. (1344). The second was LOUIS (1371-1407), second son of Charles v.; and on the accession of his grandson to the throne as Louis XII., the title lapsed. JEAN BAPTISTE GASTON (1608-60), a son of Henry IV., received it (1626) from his brother, Louis XIII. The power bestowed upon him during the minority of Louis XIV. was counteracted by Mazarin. He then joined the Fronde, and was ultimately banished to Blois, where he ended his life. The dukedom was then bestowed by Louis XIV. on his brother PHILIPPE (1640-1701), who married Henrietta, daughter of Charles I. of England. His title afterwards descended to FERDINAND LOUIS PHILIPPE CHARLES HENRI (181042), son of Louis Philippe. His son, the Count of Paris, discarded the title on his death, although it was resumed by his grandson. PHILIPPE (1674-1723) exercised the regency during the minority of Louis XV. It was during his regency that the 'Mississippi Scheme,' formed for the purpose of paying off the national debt of France, caused the financial panic of 1720. LOUIS PHILIPPE JOSEPH (1747-93) made himself popular in France by his liberalism, advocating the cause of the colonies in the American Revolutionary War. It was he who headed the seceding noblemen who joined the tiers état in the States-general in June, 1789. Subsequently he sat in the National Assembly, and in the convention which decreed the king's death, when he accepted the title of Citoyen Egalité. He perished, however, by the guillotine at the hands of the Terrorists. (For HENRI EUGÈNE PHILIPPE LOUIS D'ORLÉANS, see AUMALE.) HENRI, PRINCE OF ORLEANS (1867-1901), eldest son of Robert, Duc de Chartres, was born in England, and made several journeys across Asia and in E. Africa, one of the former resulting in the discovery of the sources of the Irawadi. the course of another journey in Eastern Asia he died at Saigon. LOUIS PHILIPPE ROBERT, DUC

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100

D'ORLEANS (1869), the Legitimist pretender to the crown of France, was born at Twickenham in England, but lived from 1871 to 1886 in France. Exiled with other members of his family in 1886, he entered Sandhurst, and served with the British Army in India (1888-9). He aroused much feeling in 1900 by lending countenance to some insolent caricatures directed against Queen Victoria. See Perkins's Under the Regency (1892).

Orleans, MAID OF. See JOAN OF ARC.

Orloff, or ORLOV, ALEXIS, COUNT (c. 1736-1808), Russian admiral. In 1762 he was one of the leaders of the revolution which placed Catherine on the throne, when he strangled Peter III. with his own hands. Appointed admiral in 1768, he defeated the Turks at Chesme (1770), near Chios.

Orloff, or ORLOV, GREGOREI, COUNT (1734-83), Russian courtier and general, brother of Alexis, served in the Seven Years' War, and took part in the revolution which placed the Empress Catherine II. on the throne.

Orme, ROBERT (1728–1801), Indian administrator and historiographer, born at Anjengo, Travancore; appointed to the service of the East India Company (1743), and became the intimate friend of Clive. He took a leading part in directing the military operations in the Carnatic (1755-9). For his services he was made governor of Madras and commissary-general (1757). He left India in 1759, and devoted himself to writing a huge work, The History of the Military Transactions of the British Nation in Indostan from 1745. This still remains a classic.

Ormer. See HALIOTIS.

Ormerod, ELEANOR ANNE (1828-1901), English entomologist, was born at Sedbury in Gloucestershire. Her first important publication was Notes of Observations on Injurious Insects (1877), in collaboration with two others. For twenty-three years afterwards there appeared annual reports under her editorship on the same subject, while she also published A Manual of Injurious Insects (1881), and Guide to Methods of Insect Life (1884; republished in 1892 as Text-book of Agricultural Entomology). She was consulting entomologist to the Royal Agricultural Society (188292). She was the first woman to receive the degree of LL.D. from the University of Edinburgh. See her Autobiography (1904). Ormin. See ORMULUM. Ormoc, pueb., Leyte prov., Philippines, 34 m. s.w. of Tacloban. An old stone breast work surrounds the town and there are

Ormuz

three ruined forts. Pop. (1903) 16,126.

Ormolu, a kind of brass made of equal parts of copper and zinc.

Ormond, resort, Volusia co., Fla., 50 m. s. of St. Augustine, on the E. coast, and on the Fla. E. Coast R. R. The Halifax R. debouches here. The broad ocean beach, 30 m. long, is a favorite course for automobile racing. In the vicinity are the remains of a 16th century Spanish mill. Pop. (1905) 689.

Ormonde, JAMES BUTLER, TWELFTH EARL AND FIRST DUKE OF (1610-88), Irish administrator, was born at Clerkenwell, London, and succeeded to the earldom of Ormonde and Ossory in 1632. From the outbreak of the Irish rebellion in 1641 to Cromwell's campaign in 1649 he was the ruling spirit in Ireland. As lordlieutenant, he continued to support the royalist cause until compelled to appeal to the Parliament. In 1661 he was created Duke of Ormonde, and in that year again became lord-lieutenant and set himself to restore Episcopacy in Ireland. His resolute integrity and independence made him the mark of jealous intrigue in England, and for seven years he was deprived of the king's favor. In 1676 he was reappointed to the government of Ireland, and kept that country quiet during the popish terror in England. He died in 1688. See Carte's A History of the Life of James, Duke of Ormonde (1736).

Ormonde, JAMES BUTLER, SECOND DUKE OF (1665-1745), British soldier and statesman, born in Dublin Castle, second son of Thomas, Earl of Ossory. After serving in Ireland, he was employed against Monmouth, and, succeeding his grandfather as duke in 1688, he became in 1689 a supporter of William and Mary, and commanded the Life Guards at the battle of the Boyne (1690). He was afterward engaged in the war with Spain, became governor of Ireland, and superseded Marlborough in Flanders. On the accession of James II. he fled to France, but he played a prominent part in the rising of 1715.

Ormulum, a series of Early English homilies, of which thirtytwo are extant, written about 1200, in very regular iambic verse, without rhyme or alliteration, by Orm or Ormin, a canon regular of St. Augustine, somewhere in the neighborhood of Lincoln. See Dr. White's Ormulum (1852), and Holt's Ormulum (1878). Extracts in Morris's Specimens of Early English (2d ed. 1898).

Ormuz, formerly one of the wealthiest commercial cities of the East. Originally it stood on the N. side of Strait of Ormuz,

Ormuzd

It

and flourished till about 1300, when, owing to attacks of the Mongols, a new town was built on N. side of an island in the strait, 4 m. from the Persian coast. was held by the Portuguese from 1507 to 1622, when the British captured it and gave it to Abbas of Persia, who transferred the trade to Bender Abbas (Gombroon). The town is now decayed and its harbor silted up.

Ormuzd. See AHRIMAN.

Ornamental Stones. To be employed for decorative purposes a rock must have a pleasing color, and be susceptible of a high polish. Marble and alabaster are often white, but most ornamental stones are colored, and many are spotted, veined, banded, or variegated. Hardness, though valuable, is not essential, and greatly increases the cost of working. The softer stones, such as gypsum, alabaster, and marble, are preferably confined to interior work; while granite, syenite, and porphyry are more applicable to façades and exteriors. Those

stones which can be obtained in large blocks are most generally used for architectural purposes. The granites include many kinds of true granites, such as the Quincy (Mass.) and Barre (Vt.) or St. Cloud (Minn.) and various syenites, such as the nepheline syenite of Montreal (Can.). Diorites, norites, gabbros, such as the Duluth (Minn.) gabbro, are also often grouped under the granites for trade purposes, but are not much used, as their dark color is less pleasing than the lighter shades of the true granites and syenites. Gray, pink, and palered are the prevalent colors of the rocks of this group, and many are variegated by the presence of large white or pink crystals of felspar-e.g. some Conn. and R. I. granites. In some climates, where the frost is intense, polished surfaces even of granite soon disintegrate. Cleopatra's Needle, which was brought to New York city from Egypt, was injured so much in a few years in this climate that it had to be given a protecting treatment. Marbles are also favorite decorative stones. The white crystalline rocks of Carrara (Italy) and Paros (Egean Sea) are principally employed by the sculptor. The serpentínous marbles of Connemara and Tiree (Ireland) are blotched with green, yellow, and sometimes red streaks. But the majority of the rocks which pass under this name are limestones, often rich in fossils, and not entirely crystalline. The most commonly used marbles in the United States are from Vt., N. Y., Ga., Tenn. A great variety of these can be obtained with colors ranging from black to gray, red, pink, and white, and differing also in

(From Stereograph. Copyright 1895, by Underwood & Underwood.)

used in interior decoration. It is in reality a precipitated limestone -a massive compact banded travertine much prized because of its translucent and beautiful wavy banding. Many of the Italian marbles are of the same type. Alabaster is a granular variety of gypsum, white, yellow, or pink, and very soft; but granular and stalagmitic limestones are sometimes sold under this name. Serpentine is dark green, yellow, or red, and usually variegated. It is used principally for small ornaments. Verte antique is a variety of serpentine. The best-known porphyries are the porphido rosso, which came from Egypt, and the green porphyry, which was originally obtained in Greece. Jasper, onyx, agate, and black slate also serve as decorative stones.

embedded in a matrix, which has a similar texture, but a somewhat different color, and after the whole mass has become firm it is sawn into slabs and polished. See Hull's Building and Ornamental Stones (1872), Merrill's Stones for Building and Decoration (1897), Blagrove's Marble Decoration (1888), and Burnham's Limestones and Marbles (1883).

Orne, dep., N.W. France, formed from part of ancient Normandy, covers 2,372 sq. in. The w. is composed of wooded hills and pasture land; the E. is toral and arable. The river Orne traverses it from S.E. to N.W. Wheat, oats, and barley are cultivated, but more attention is paid to the cultivation of apples for cider. Its horses are famous. Dairy produce is exported. It manufactures lace, cotton, and