364 



ORRIS ROOT ORTOLAN. 



examined, which produced the controversy with doc- 

 tor Bentley (q. v.), in which the wit was all on 

 out' side and the truth on the other. On the death 

 of his brother, he succeeded to the earldom, and, in 

 1709, was sworn of the queen's privy council. He 

 was also envoy-extraordinary from the queen to the 

 states of Flanders and Brabant, at the critical period 

 <>f tlie treaty of Utrecht, and, on his return, was 

 raised to the dignity of a British peer, tinder the 

 title of lord Boyle. He retired from court soon after 

 the accession of George I., and, in 1722, was sent to 

 the Tower on suspicion of being concerned in Layer's 

 plot, but was discharged after six months' imprison- 

 ment. Besides the edition of Phalaris, he published 

 a comedy, called, As you find It, and some verses. 

 He died in 1731. His name has been given to 

 a well-known astronomical instrument invented by 

 Graham. See Orrery. 



ORRIS ROOT; the root of a white flowering 

 species of iris, the /. Florentina, a native of the south 

 of Europe. In a dried state, it is well known, on 

 account of its communicating a grateful odour, re- 

 sembling that of violets. It was formerly much em- 

 ployed in medicine, but is now little valued except as 

 a perfume. It is exported from the Mediterranean in 

 considerable quantities, and, among other uses, is em- 

 ployed in the manufacture of hair-powder. 



ORSINI ; one of the most celebrated princely 

 families in Italy, and which, in former times, had 

 large possessions in Hungary. In the eleventh cen- 

 tury, it held a brilliant rank among the Roman nobi- 

 lity, and, in spite of the rivalship of the powerful 

 family of Colonna, maintained its splendour under 

 the protection of several popes who belonged to it. 

 The founder was John Cajetan, whose descendant 

 Matthew Rubens had three sons, who founded three 

 lines, of which there remains at present only one, 

 that of Orsini-Gravina, derived from Napoleon Or- 

 sini, the youngest son of Matthew. Francis Orsini 

 (descended from this Napoleon) was made, in 1417, 

 count of Gravina, a city in the Neapolitan district of 

 Bari. His son James obtained the title of duke. 

 The eleventh duke after him, Peter Francis, in 1667, 

 gave up the dukedom of Gravina to his brother Do- 

 minicus, and, in 1724, was chosen pope. He ruled, 

 under the name of Benedict X///., until 1730, when 

 another Orsini (Clement XII.) obtained the triple 

 crown. The latter raised the nephew of Benedict 

 XIII., prince Beroald Orsini, to the dignity of prince 

 of the papal see, after the emperor Charles VI. had 

 already, in 1724, made him a prince of the German 

 empire. The seat of the family was commonly in 

 Naples. The family has given several distinguished 

 men to Italy, among whom Nicholas Orsini and his 

 cousin Lorenzo obtained some reputation in the war 

 of Venice against the league of Cambray. The for- 

 mer distinguished himself by taking and violently 

 defending Padua, in 1509, against the emperor Maxi- 

 milian I. ; and the latter was the first who dis- 

 ciplined the Italian infantry, so that they could stand 

 the attacks of the formidable Swiss and Spanish 

 troops. 



ORT (German for place}; appearing in geogra- 

 phical names, as Fredericsort. 



ORTHITE; (ty ( , straight) because it always 

 occurs in straight layers, generally in feldspar. It 

 bears a strong resemblance to gadolinite, and con- 

 sists of peroxide of cerium 19 -5, protoxide of iron 

 12-44, protoxide of manganese 3-44, yttric 3'44, 

 silex 32 0, alumine 14-8, lime 7'84, water 5-36. It 

 is found in the mine of Finbo, in the vicinity of Fah- 

 lun, in Sweden. 



^ ORTHODOXY (from the Greek 'ofiolfa,, from 

 e&of, right, and Saga, opinion), used only in religious 

 matters, signifies just notions on religious subjects. 



Such sects, therefore, as claim to be solely in posses- 

 sion of religious truth can admit no others to be 

 orthodox. In the Roman Catholic understanding of 

 the word, he is orthodox who believes what the 

 church believes and teaches ; what is contained in 

 the gospel, the traditions, the decrees of the councils, 

 and the silent agreement of the church. The Greek 

 Catholics call, in their turn, themselves orthodox, and 

 the Roman Catholics heterodox. In Britain, the word 

 is often used to designate Calvinists, as well by them- 

 selves as by people not belonging to their sect. See 

 Heretics, Acatholici, and Heterodox. 



ORTHOGRAPHIC PROJECTION OF THE 

 SPHERE is that projection which is made upon a 

 plane passing through the middle of the sphere, by 

 an eye placed vertically ;n an infinite distance. 



ORTHOGRAPHY ; that part of grammar which 

 teaches the nature and properties of letters, and the 

 just method of spelling or writing words, making one 

 of the four greatest divisions or branches of grammar. 



ORTHOPAEDIC INSTITUTES; the name given 

 by the Germans to establishments devoted to the cure 

 of deformities, chiefly those of the spine, ribs, and pel- 

 vis. The word is from otfof (straight) and tra/Js/a (the 

 formation of a child). It is a branch of surgery much 

 cultivated of late, and astonishing cures have been 

 effected by perseverance and ingenuity. One of the 

 most perfect of these institutes exists at present at 

 Wiirsburg, Germany, under Mr Heine. See his 

 Reglement interieur de V Institutorth opedique dit Caro- 

 tin (Wu'rzburg, 1826), and Historical Account of the 

 Foundation of the Orthopaedic Caroline- Institute, with 

 scientific views respecting deformities of the human 

 body. The cases subjected to treatment in that in- 

 stitute are, 1. the crooked neck (caput obstipum) ; 



2. curvature of the spine towards one side (scolosis) 



3. curvature of the spine backwards (kyphosis) ; 



4. curvature of the spine forwards (lordosis) 5. de 

 viation of the ribs and clavicles from their pro- 

 per situation and connexion ; 6. deformities caused 

 by unnatural shortness of the muscles round the hips ; 

 7. deformity from weakness of the spine ; 8. unna- 

 tural motions of the upper arm in the joints ; 9. club 

 hand, and faulty extension and flexion of the hand ; 

 10. crookedness of the upper arm, or fore-arm; 11. 

 contraction of the thigh towards the back ; 12. con- 

 traction of one thigh towards the other ; 13. faulty 

 rotation of the thigh-bone, so that the point of the 

 foot is turned unnaturally outwards or inwards ; 14. 

 contraction of the lower leg towards the thigh ; 15. 

 knees unnaturally bent, so as to be too far from or 

 too near to each other; 16. club-feet bent inwards 

 (vari) ; 17. club-feet turned outwards (valgi); 18. flat 

 feet ; 19. crookedness of the thigh-bone and the 

 other bones of the leg ; 20. deformities of the lower 

 extremities from weakness ; also complication of 

 several of these deformities. There are many ortho- 

 paedic institutions in Germany and France. That of 

 doctor Leithoff, at Lubeck, is the oldest in Germany. 



ORTLES-SPITZE, or ORTLER ; a mountain in 

 Tyrol, on the borders of Engadina. By some 

 measurements its elevation is 15,430 feet, the third 

 highest in Europe. Its summit was first reached, in 

 1802, by Joseph Pichler, a hunter of Passeyr. 



ORTOLAN (emberiza hortulana.) This bird, so 

 celebrated in the annals of gastronomy, is a native 

 of the southern parts of Europe, though it even 

 visits England, Sweden, &c. It appears to be 

 identical with the miliaria of Varro, which was 

 sold at such enormous prices to the epicures of 

 ancient Rome. When killed at the proper time, 

 these birds are very fat, but they are not so much 

 esteemed as when they are caught alive, and arti, 

 ficially brought to their highest degree of perfection. 

 This is done by confining them in a chamber from 



