OPUNTIA 



Opuntia. Genus of succulent 

 plants of the natural order Cac 

 taceae. All are natives of America, 

 and some are familiarly known as 

 prickly pear and Indian fig. The 

 majority require treatment in 

 greenhouses, as some of them reach 

 a height of 20 to 30 ft. Several 

 species are quite hardy in Britain 

 on well-drained soil. They flower 

 during the summer months, with 

 red, yellow, or purple blossoms, and 

 thrive in a mixture of loam and 

 limestone. Opuntias should be 

 watered liberally during the sum- 

 mer months, but require no water 

 from Nov. till Feb. They are pro- 

 pagated by cuttings of the stem 

 planted in gritty soil in early spring. 



Or (Fr.). In heraldry, gold, the 

 principal metal. It is represented 

 in drawings by small dots over the 

 whole space, and in painting either 

 by gilding or yellow pigment. See 

 Heraldry, colour plate. 



Oracle (Lat. orare, to speak, 

 pray). Originally, in Greece, the 

 seat of worship of a deity where 

 responses were given to inquirers, 

 usually with reference to public 

 events. The word was also used of 

 the response itself. Such responses 

 were accepted as representing the 

 voice of the deity as expressed 

 through a priest or priestess in a 

 state of religious exaltation, or 

 through some other medium, as at 

 the oracle of Zeus at Olympia, 

 where the divine will or knowledge 

 was interpreted by inspection of 

 the entrails of sacrificed animals. 



The oracle was a characteristic 

 feature of the religion of the ancient 

 Greeks. Other well-known Greek 

 oracles besides that at Olympia 

 were the oracle of Zeus at Dodona 

 (q.v.) in Epirus, which was con- 

 sidered the most ancient, and 

 that of Apollo at Delphi (q.v.), the 

 most famous of all. Its responses 

 were interpreted by the priests in 

 hexameter verse. Oracular re- 

 sponses in general were said to 

 be characterised by ambiguity, 

 a notable example being the re- 

 sponse to Croesus (q.v.). Though 

 the Delphic oracle was accused by 

 the Athenians at any rate of par- 

 tiality towards the Spartans, there 

 is no doubt that on the whole the 

 ancient oracles were on the side of 

 morality, both public and private. 

 An oracle was always consulted 

 before the foundation of a colony. 

 The oracle of the hero Amphiaraus, 

 at Oropus in Attica, gave replies 

 to inquirers in dreams. Oracles 

 also existed among the ancient 

 Babylonians and Egyptians. The 

 Hebrew Urim and Thummim (q.v. ) 

 was a kind of oracle. See Divina- 

 tion; consult also Greek Oracles, 

 F. W. H. Myers, in Hellenica, ed 

 E. Abbott, 2nd ed. 1898. 



Opuntia. 



ORANGE 



5'ears 1835-47. It is divided into 

 the five civil arrondissements of 

 Oran, Mascara, Mostaganem, Sidi- 

 bel-Abbes, and Tlemcen, and three 

 military divisions. Its area is 23,500 

 sq. m. Pop. 1,230,200. See Africa. 

 Oran. Seaport of Algeria. On 

 the Gulf of Oran, it is 260 m. by rly. 

 from Algiers, and capital of the 

 dept. of the same name. The city 

 which has an excellent harbour, 

 now ranks as the second city of 

 Algeria, exporting wine, cattle, 

 grain, and minerals. The modern 

 parts are well planned and stoutly 

 built in the fashion of a French 

 city ; notable buildings are the 

 Chateau-Neuf (1563), the museum, 

 Volcanic mt. of and library, R.C. cathedral, and 

 the Grand Mosque. Oran was cap- 



Stem and flower ol the 

 Indian fig 



Orafa Jokull. 



Iceland, the culminating peak of 



Vatna Jokull (.0. ), alt. 6,425 ft. It tured by the Spaniards in 1509, 



is the highest point on the island, abandoned by them in 1792, and 



and was first scaled in 1891 bv 



F. W. W. Howell. Eruptions oc 



Oran, Algeria. View of the native quarter 



was occupied by the French in 



1831 Pop. 123,100. 



Orange (Arab. 

 ndranj). Fruit of 

 Citrus aurantium 

 and its varie- 

 ties, evergreen 

 trees of the order 

 Rutaceae, natives 

 of Asia. Whe- 

 ther the several 

 varieties of orange 

 are the descend 

 ants of a single 

 wild species or of 

 several species is 

 an open question, 

 oranges having 

 been cultivated 

 for so many cen 



curred in 1341, 1342, 1598, and 1727. turies that there has been time for 



Orakzai. Pat ban tribe of the many varieties to have arisen. The 



Indo- Afghan frontier. Living S. of date at which the orange tree was 



the Afridi, they differ in their less introduced to Europe is not known ; 



guttural N. Pushtu speech, and less but it is believed the conquering 



robust physique, and are fewer in Arabs brought it from India, its 



number. They occupy the lower val- native country, as far west as 



leys, where they raise winter crops. Arabia in the 9th century, and 



Oran. Department of Algeria, later to Italy, S. France, and Spain. 



Bordering upon Morocco, it was A tree at the convent of S. Sabina, 



conquered by France during the at Rome, is reputed to date from 



The Oracle. A scene from Eastern life. From the picture by J. W. 

 Waterhouse, R.A., now in the Tate Gallery, London 



