Page images
PDF
EPUB
[blocks in formation]
[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors]

ORIOLES-ORNITHADELPHIA

begin 870 m. from the sea.
coast, and is crossed by above 50 channels. The tide is felt for
The delta extends 175 m. along the
270 m.

Orlando. See ROLAND.

110

Orleans. City of France, on the Loire, 75 m. s.s. w. of Paris; besieged by Attila 451; twice plundered by Northmen; besieged by the English 1428-29, but relieved by Joan of Arc; prominent in the Huguenot wars and in that of 1870. It had a university 1312-1789, and has a large trade. Pop., 1891, 63,705. Orleans, BASTARD OF. See DUNOIS.

Orleans, DUKES OF. CHARLES, 1391-1465; French commander at Agincourt 1415; prisoner in England till 1440; lyric poet; father of Louis XII.-JEAN BAPTISTE GASTON, 1608-1660; third son of Henry IV.; Duke 1626; busy in intrigues against

[graphic]

Orioles. True orioles are tropical Old World birds, in general appearance resembling the American orioles, which belong to a distinct family (Icterida). The Golden Oriole visits England. American orioles build pendent nests. The Mexican Troupial is celebrated for its melodious, clear notes. Most of the species are S. American. See BALTIMORE ORIOLE.

Orion. In Mythology, hunter, blinded or slain, and finally placed among the stars.

Oriskany. Village of Oneida co., N.Y.; scene of a battle between 800 Americans under Gen. Herkimer and a force of Tories and Indians, Aug. 6, 1777.

Oriskany Sandstone. Bed at the base of the Devonian,
chiefly in N. Y. and Pa. It is thin but widespread, and con-
tains a somewhat peculiar fauna. See DEVONIAN.

Orissa. Former state of e. India, now part of Bengal,
Pop., 1891, 3,865,020.

Orizaba. Volcanic peak in Mexico, between the capital
and Vera Cruz. Ht. 18,314 ft.

Orkian, 1290-1360. Son and successor of Othman, founder of the Turkish empire; Sultan from 1326. He took sundry Greek towns in Asia and Europe, and organized the Janissaries.

Orkney Islands. Numerous group n.e. of Scotland, 29 being inhabited; called Arcades by classical writers; conquered

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

Orkney Islands.

[ocr errors]

Orlop. Deck of a ship on which the cables are stowed. Ormerod, ELEANOR, b. ab. 1835. English entomologist. Insect Life, 1884.

Ormolu. See COPPER, METALLURGY OF.

Ormonde, JAMES BUTLER, FIRST DUKE OF, 1610-1688. Earl 1632; Commander in Ireland 1640-43; Lord-lieut. 1644; active royalist; made Duke 1660; Viceroy of Ireland 1662-69 and 167685.-His grandson and namesake, 1665-1746, 2d duke 1688, Lord-lieut. of Ireland 1703, held command against France and Spain 1711, and was impeached and attainted 1715.

Ormulum. Series of homilies on the Gospel history, in Semi-Saxon verse, by Orm, ab. 1220: in the Bodleian library at Oxford; discovered 1659, pub. 1852.

Ormuz, STRAIT OF. Passage connecting Persian Gulf with Sea of O., which is an arm of the Arabian Sea or Indian Ocean. Ormuzd, ORMAZD, or AHURA-MAZDA. Chief deity of Zeve astrianism

by Norwegians 876: annoyed to N

1106

ORNITHICHNITES-ORRERY

Ornithichnites. Footprints of birds, found chiefly on slabs of the Trias.

Ornithology. Natural history of birds. The extant portions of Aristotle's works treat of 170 species of birds. No further contributions of importance were made until the time of Turner, 1544, Gesner, and Belon; but the foundations of the science were not laid until 1676, by Willughby and Ray. The binomial classification of Linnæus was introduced 1735 and improved by Brisson 1760. Buffon introduced 1783 the conception of variation of species. In 1812 Merrem started the modern system of classification. In 1831 Swainson developed the conception of Evolution, and Nitsch sought a natural classification. In 1835 Sundevall began to recognize the importance of internal structure as furnishing classificatory characters. This conception was supported by the paleontological discoveries of connecting links between Birds and Reptiles, begun 1861, worked out by Owen 1863, Huxley 1867, Milne-Edwards 1871, Marsh 1872, and fully developed in the latter's Odontornithes, 1880. These data have stimulated Sclater to present a revised system of the Birds. Besides the authors above mentioned, the following, with main date of publication, are the most important. Catesby, 1731; Brünnich, 1764; Forster, 1771; Fabricius, 1780: D'Aubenton, 1780; Pennant, 1785; White, 1789 (Nat. Hist. of Selborne); Bartram, 1791; Barton, 1799: Le Vaillant, 1801; Bewick, 1804; Tiedemann, 1810; Illiger, 1811; Naumann, 1817; De Blainville, 1820; Audubon, 1827; Wilson, 1828; Bonaparte, 1831; Keyserling and Blasius, 1839; Gervais, 1856; Parker, 1860; Coues, 1884; Ridgway, 1887.

Ornithophilous. Flowers which are cross-fertilized by birds, which carry the pollen of one to the pistils of another. The Humming Birds are especially active in this process.

Ornithorhynchus. Duck-billed water-mole of Australia, also called Platypus; brown aquatic mammal, 18 in. long, with webbed feet. It burrows into muddy banks and feeds on shellfish, etc. Its jaws are ensheathed by a duck-like bill: four horny molar teeth are present. The tail is short and flat. The

males have movable spurs on the hind legs, perforated and con-
necting with poison glands. These creatures resemble birds
still more in their internal anatomy. A well-developed cora-
coid bone is present; there is a cloaca, and the young are born
from eggs. Epipubic bones are present, but no marsupial pouch.

Ornithosauria. Flying Reptiles, now extinct, but abound-
ing in the Jurassic period. The limbs were specialized to hold
a web, as in bats, except that the little finger was greatly pro-
longed, to support the anterior edge of this patagium, the other
fingers being free, and the thumb rudimentary. The head was
like that of modern birds; even the jaws were incased in a
horny beak, which usually bore teeth. The shoulder girdle was
avian; the pelvis was saurian. The bones were provided with
air-sacs; the blood was warm, but no feathers were present.
In size the Pterodactyls ranged from that of a sparrow to that
of a condor. One from the Kansas chalk deposits had a spread
of wing of 25 ft. They inhabited both continents. It is probable
that none of their descendants now remain. The Birds are de-
scended from the Dinosaurs, which belong to the order Or-
nithoscelida. See PTEROSAURIA.

Ornithoscelida. Order of extinct Reptiles whose hind
limbs, etc., show bird-like characters. Here are included the
Dinosauria and Compsognathus. In the latter the head is bird-
like, the neck vertebræ are long, the anterior ribs short, the
posterior long, and the astragalus is fused with the long tibia.
The pubis and ischium are elongated downward, and the ilium
extends forward.

banchaceæ. Natural family of flowering plants, of
sub-class Dicotyledons, and series Gam-
cies, scattered

through the temperate and warm regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America; called the Broom-rape family.

Orography. Department of Geology which considers the structure, geological history, age, and mode of formation of mountains of every kind and size, including all elevations above the general level of a country. See MOUNTAIN and MOUNTAIN STRUCTURE.

[graphic]

called Typhon, from a mythical dragon who is said to have traced its course with his tail, but later after Orontes, who built a bridge across it. Length ab. 240 m.

Orosius, PAULUS. Spanish presbyter of 5th century, whose 7 books of History against the Pagans, extending to 417, were much valued in the Middle Ages, and tr. into Anglo-Saxon by Alfred.

Orozco y Berra, MANUEL, 1816-1881. Mexican historian. Orpheus. In Greek Mythology, Thracian musician of extraordinary gifts. Apollo gave him the lyre, and the Muses taught him its use; by its strains he tamed wild beasts, made trees follow him, and won back his wife Eurydice from Hades, but lost her again because he could not refrain from looking back at her before reaching the upper world. Many hymns and poems are credited to an Orphic fraternity, which existed till ab. 300.

Orpiment. As S. Natural ARSENIOUS SULPHIDE (q.v.), of yellow color, occurring in small quantity and usually as a product of alteration of ores containing arsenic.

Orr, JAMES LAWRENCE, 1822-1873. M.C. 1849-59; Senator C.S.A. 1862-65; Gov. of S. C. 1865-68; Circuit Judge for S. C. 1870; U. S. Minister to Russia 1872.

Orrery. Machine constructed for the purpose of showing

the motion of the planets round the sun, and of the satellites round their primaries. Made by Rowley for the Earl of Orrery

r

ORRIS-ROOT-ORYX

in 1715. Though not accurate it gives a general notion of the
way in which the planetary motions are performed.

Orris-Root. Rootstocks of certain species of Iris, natives
of s. Europe, smelling strongly like violets and used in per-
fumery.

Orsay, ALFRED GUILLAUME GABRIEL, COUNT D', 1801-1852.
French glass of fashion and mold of form," long prominent

66

in London.

Orsini. Princely family, long prominent in Rome; Guelphs and enemies of the Colonnas. Two of them became popes, 1277 and 1724.

Orsini, FELICE, 1819-1858. Italian fanatic, bred to conspiracies; sentenced to the galleys 1844, pardoned 1846; deputy 1849; imprisoned 1855; executed in Paris for killing and wounding many persons in an attempt on the life of Napoleon III. Jan. 14.

Ortega, CASIMIRO GOMEZ, 1740-1819. Director of the Botanical Gardens in Madrid. Tabula botanica, 1773.

Ortel, ABRAHAM, 1527-1598. Flemish geographer. Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, 1570; Thesaurus Geog., 1578-96.

Orth, GODLOVE STONER, 1817-1882. M.C. from Ind. 1863-71, 1873-75, and from 1879; U. S. Minister to Austria 1875-77. Orth, JOHANNES, b. 1847. Prof. Göttingen 1878; writer on pathology.

Orthez. Town of s. France, near which Wellington defeated a French army under Soult Feb. 27, 1814. Pop. ab. 4,800. Orthis. Palæozoic Brachiopod genus, containing numerous species; originally distinguished by the straight hinge line. Ortho Acids. Usually the ordinary form, derived from normal acids by the abstraction of one or more molecules of water; e.g., normal phosphoric acid, P(OH). by loss of one molecule of water becomes orthophosphoric acid, H,PO.. Orthoceras. Straight chambered Palæozoic shell, allied

1107

Orthogonal. Right angled: operations such as transformation, projection, etc., and their results, in which the movement is at right angles to a fixed base.

Orthogonal Transformation. From one set of rectangular axes in space to another having the same origin. formation is automorphic. Point distances from origin are unchanged, and the trans

Orthographic (ORTHOGONAL) Projection. which points or lines are projected by lines or planes perpenThat in dicular to the base of projection.

Orthography. Correct spelling; of increasing importance as the number of words increases and the standard of education rises; formerly optional in England, especially with proper

names.

Orthoneura. See TÆNIOGLOSSA.

Orthopedic Surgery. Branch of surgery dealing with operations and mechanical appliances used to correct deformities; e.g., club-foot, curved backs from spinal disease, primarily in children.

Orthoptera.

Insecta with incomplete metamorphosis, with two pairs of wings, which in the Pseudoneuroptera are membranous and alike (with close nervures), and cannot be folded; but, in the Orthoptera genuina, the anterior pair are small and hard, the hinder ones are broad and membranous and can be folded together longitudinally beneath the anterior pair. The jaws are fitted for biting. The genuine Orthoptera comprise the tribes Cursoria, Gressoria, and Saltatoria. The Pseudoneuroptera comprise the tribes Physopoda, Corrodentia, and Amphibiotica. Grasshoppers and Dragon-flies are illustrations of the two main groups respectively.

Orthostichous. Straight row of leaves or other organs. Orthostyle. Straight row of columns detached and not forming a portico.

Orthotropous. Straight ovule, i.e., one not bent nor curved; also called Atropous.

Orton, ARTHUR (alias THOMAS CASTRO), b. 1834. Claimant in the TICHBORNE CASE (q.v.), 1871-72; tried for perjury 1873-74, and sentenced to 14 years with hard labor. In 1895 he confessed the imposture.

Orton, EDWARD, LL.D., b. 1829. Prof. Antioch Coll. 186573; Pres. Ohio State Univ. 1873-81: state geologist of Ohio, assistant and chief, from 1869; author of reports and numerous papers on the Geology of Ohio. His principal work has been upon the Coal and Gas fields of Ohio.

Orton, JAMES, 1830-1877. Prof. Vassar Coll. from 1869; explorer in S. America 1867-68, 1873, and 1877. Andes and Amazon, 1870-76; Comparative Zoology, 1875.

Ortygia. 1. Island in Bay of Syracuse, Sicily, occupied by part of the city. 2. Delos.

Orvieto. Ancient town of central Italy, noted for its cathedral, built 1290-1580; resort of many popes in distress. Pop. 7,900.

Oryx. Several species of African Antelopes, characterized

[graphic]

g

Ulites

Trery

Fragment of Orthoceras crebri-
septum Cincinnati Group,
North America, of the natu-
ral size. The lower figure is
a section showing the air-
chambers, and the form and
position of the siphuncle.

[graphic]

Restoration of Orthoceras, the shell being supposed to be divided vertically, and only its upper part being shown. a, Arms; f, Muscular tube (funnel") by which water is expelled from the mantlechamber; c, Air-chambers; 8, Siphuncle.

to the nautilus; sometimes in the Cambrian and Silurian at-
taining a length of 15 ft. There are many species, from the
Silurian to the Liassic. See TETRABRANCHIATA.

Orthoclase. KAlSi,O. Common FELDSPAR (q.v.); distin-
guished from quartz by its pearly cleavage, and from mica by
its greater hardness.

Ortho Compounds. Wherever this prefix is used, see the main word; e.g., for ortho-toluidine see toluidine. See META and BENZENE HYPOTHESIS.

Orthodox School of Political Economy. Group of economists who have followed with comparative closeness the teachings of Adam Smith, Malthus, Ricardo, and the other early English economists.

Orthodoxy. Correct religious opinions, as opposed to heterodoxy or heresy; variously defined according to the point

of view.

Orthoepy. Branch of grammar dealing with pronuncia

tion.

Orthognathi. Division of mankind having slightly projecting jaws and teeth, as in the European races. They have a high facial angle. See MAN and CRANIOMETRY

Oryx (Oryx beisa).

by very long poorly

« PreviousContinue »