■318 
barrel or hand organ, consisting of a move- 
aLne turning cylinder called a barrel, on 
winch, by means of wires, pins, and staples, 
are set the tunes it is intended to perform. 
1 hese pins and staples, by the revolution of 
the barrel, act upon the keys within, and give 
admission to the wind from the bellows to 
the pipes. lhe barrel organ is generally 
portable; and so contrived that the same ac- 
tion ot the hand which turns the barrel, sup- 
plies the wind by giving motion to the bel- 
lows. 
I he invention of the organ, which is attri- 
buted to the Greeks, is very antient, though 
it i^ generally allowed to have been little 
used before the eighteenth century. 
It has been a subject of debate at what 
time the use of organs was first introduced 
into the church. Some writers say', that they 
were first applied to sacred use in the time 
P°P e ^ Italian, about the year 660; others 
that they were not employed in that way till 
the ninth century. A learned author 'has, 
however, shewn that neither of these dates 
can be just : and Thomas Acjuinas expressly 
says, that in his time (about the year 1250) 
the chu i ,( :h did not use musical instruments* 
and Bingham says, that Marinos Sauutus 
who lived about the year 1290, first intro- 
duced the use of them into churches. But if 
we may give credit to the testimony of Ger- 
vas, the monk of Canterbury, who flourished 
at the beginning of the thirteenth century 
organs were introduced more than one hun- 
dred years before his time. Bede, who died 
m /35, says nothing of the use of organs or 
other musical instruments, in our churches or 
convents, though he minutely describes the 
manner in which the psalms and hymns were 
sung ; yet Mabillon and Muratori inform us 
that organs, during the 10th century, became 
common in Italy and Germany, as well as in 
England ; and that about the same time they 
had admission into the convents throughout 
.Europe. ° 
The church-organ consists of two parts • 
the main body, called the great organ, and 
the positive or little organ, which forms a 
small case or buffet, commonly placed before 
the great organ. The size of an organ is ge- 
nerally expressed by the length of its largest 
pipe; thus they say, an organ of 8, 16^3'? 
feet, &C; The organ in the cathedral church 
at Urn in Germany is 93 feet high and 28 
broad; its largest pipe is 13 inches diameter 
and it has 16 pair of bellows. 
Plate Organ, represents a barrel-organ made 
by Mr. Lincoln, Hoi born, A, figs. 2 and 6 
is the handle by which it is played ; on its 
spindle is a crank -a, that works the bellows 
which supply the organ with air: these bel- 
lows are in two distinct parts BD; and as the 
lower boards move round/ as a centre, one 
of the sides is always filling with air by a 
valve in its under side, while the other is 
forcing its way through a valve in the board 
E into the regulator F, the moveable or 
upper board of which is pressed down by two 
wire springs bb. When the handle A is 
turned, the crank a by the rod d, moves the 
lower boards BD of the bellows up and down 
so that they force the air alternately through 
*heir respective valves into the regulator: 
when a great quantity of air is forced into 
the regulator, it overcomes the springs, and 
raises the upper board; and during the time 
that the bellows supply no air, which is when 
ORGAN. 
the valves in the boards BD are shutting, the 
springs bb force down the board ofthe regu- 
lator and drive tiie air out of it for the sup- 
p y of the organ, till the bellows begin to act. 
rhe board Lhasa hole cut through it, which 
communicates with a passage ee, fig. 2; which 
conveys the air from the regulator to a trunk [ 
g, called the wind-chest, and which extends 
the whole length of the organ under the 
pipes G and H : the board which forms the 
top ot this has a hole through it under every 
pipe and is covered by a valve as h. i is a 
small wire, the end of which rests upon the 
valve, so as to open it when the wire is pushed 
down the passage ; for the air is conveyed 
through the upper board of the wind-chest 
under two sliders Id, called stops, which have 
handles (shewn in fig. 6.) coming through 
the frame, by which they can be moved in or 
out: these stops slide in tubes, lined with 
leather, which they fit very exactly, so as to 
prevent any air getting through by the sides 
oi them ; and the stops have as many holes 
cut through them as there are valves and 
pipes, and at the same distance from one 
another ; so that when the stops are pushed 
in, the holes in them coincide with the pas- 
sage from the valves to the pipes GH, so as 
o give the aii hee vent ; and when they are 
drawn out, the spaces between the holes in 
the stops are brought over the passages, so as 
to close them, and prevent any air getting 
through. From the stop k the air is con- 
v eyed by a crooked passage to the wooden 
pipes f 1 and the slider / is to intercept the 
air for the metal pipes G. A section of each 
kind of pipe is shewn in rigs. 3 and 4 : aa fig. 
0 is a cylmdnc pipe, usually of lead; to one 
end Oi this is soldered a conical pipe bboi the 
same metal at the end d of which the air is 
admitted. IN ear the junction of the two pipes a 
piece of metal e is soldered, which fills up all 
the pipe, except a small cavity on one side, 
which is cut straight .; and the edge of the 
conical pipe bb is bent straight, so as to leave 
a srhall crack, through which the air issues. 
1 fie edge n of the cylindric .pipe is cut to a 
s Harp edge, and bent down to the line with 
the opening through which the air copies: 
when the air is blown through the end d it 
rushes through the opening between the 
piece <? and the edge of the pipe bb, the sound 
is formed by the edge n dividing the current 
or air, and the vibration of the air in the re- 
maindcr of the tube aa: in large pipes a small 
pi ece of metal o, called the ear, is soldered on 
which adds much to the sound. The wooden 
pipe, fig. 4, is composed of a square trunk 
ot wood aa: in one end a block of wood b is 
glued ; a small wooden pipe d is inserted into 
the lower end of this block to bring the air to 
the pipe, the end of which is partly closed by 
a plug of wood to adjust the quantity of air' • 
in the lead/i pipes this is done by pinching 
them up at the end. On one side of the block 
V 1 P Ie< r e G/ak is glued, between the edge 
o which and the block b the air issues, and is 
divided, as m the metal pipes, by the edge of 
one of the boards of the trunk, which is cut 
sharp for the purpose: the ends of the wooden 
pipes are closed by a plug of wood h, which is 
slid farther in or out, to adjust the pipe to the 
proper note. The spindle of the handle A 
hg. 6, has an endless screw m upon it, which 
works into a wheel L, the barrel K (shewn 
separately in fig. 1.). This barrel is made of 
wood, and lias pins drove into it, which pins. 
as it is turned round, lift up the keys ft fi r 
6. shewn in fig. 5, where A is tiie barrel’ the 
pins of which, as it turns, take hold of the 
end c oi the keys n, and lift them up : these 
keys are supported by a bar B called the 
key-hame, on each side of which a brass 
plate bb is screwed, which lias notches cut in 
- to guide each key: a wire d is put through 
each key, round which it moves as a centre : 
the end/ of the key has a piece of mahogany 
fastened to it, to which is jointed the rod / 
by a piece of leather. The lower end of this 
hi' the i vire i ’ iig - b y which 
v-1 . ve h 'S opened as before described- 
the spring under this valve throws the rod 1 
upwards; and to prevent the end e of the key 
trom touching the barrel, a screw p is put 
through the key-frame, the bottom of winch 
ts covered with leather, to catch the key 
without making any noise. The operation 
of the machine is as follows: When the handle 
-V, fig- 0 , is turned, it works the bellows by the 
fiu 31 ? f ° rceS the air to the wind chest g, 
ban-elK I' 6 S r mL i tl ‘V e the s J cre ' v m turns tiie 
oantl K, fig. 6, slowly round: the pins in its 
whfow/ 111 l ' P ,h< ; en * d f’ ,ig ' of the key, 
r f resses . the other end, and by the 
1 ?. h 1 f ncl wire*, hg- 2, opens the valve, and 
allows the air (if the stops k or l are opcn'i to 
enter the piped the proper note, and sound 
it. As the barrel turns, that key is dropped ' 
and the spring shuts the valve ; another pipe’ 
corresponding to the next note of the tune is 
uleled Pei |f t| and i S ° ° ntill - the tui,eis com- 
plcted. It the tune is wanted to be played 
‘ high key, the stop / is drawn out, and 
the metal pipes are used ; if in a low key the 
wooden pipes, which are an octave lower 
are played, by pulling out the stop K and 
pushing m the other; if the tune is to be 
played very loud, both are drawn out • and 
when both are pushed in, no sound is pro- 
l AS - a d T’ ent ( > uan,it y of air is want- 
ed foi playing the metal and wooden pipes 
horl1 0WS are n, , a<1< 1 ' lar 8 e enough to supply 
both at once; and when only one is used, the 
an escapes through a valve in the upper 
board of the regulator F: this valve has a 
lo ig handle, and is kept shut by a wire sprint- 
■w len the board of the regulator is raised to 
a certain height, the handle of the valve m 
meets a part of the frame, the valve is open- 
ed, and the air escapes. The frame in which 
the barrel is mounted, fig. i. j s s [i ( | int 
groove M, figs. 2 and 6 : to one of tiie uprights 
or the frame, a piece of brass N fi-r j ; s 
boa'rcroi- f?’ S Pr ° jeCtS tl ! r0Ugh U ' e Outside 
boaid of the organ, as shewn in fig. 7, and 
has as many notches cut in it as the barrel 
ays different tunes; a holt O slides into any 
o these notches, so as to keep the piece N in 
any place where it is set over the end of this 
bolt; another bolt P slides so that P must be 
withdrawn before O can be moved. The bolt 
P has a wire figs. 2, 5, and 6, projecting 
horn the back ot it through the board • this 
wire acts upon one end of the lever so as 
ThfAp 'V knVn r r U tliS - bolt is tlr »wn back, 
to lg ' 5 ’ 1S not fastened down 
to the frame of the organ, but has two pieces 
of iron plate g fastened to the ends of it - the 
otlrei end of this moves round a screw, as a 
centre, so that the frame and keys can be 
turned up clear ot the barrel ; it l/as a wire 
spang b, to keep it down, and a screw t re 
gulates its distance from the barrel when 
dov\n. One end of the lever;- is put under 
