Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/685

 ORCHIDS 6T1 appropriated to the stage, in front of the spectators, and surrounded by steps. In mod- ern theatres the orchestra is the space be- tween the audience and the stage allotted to the musicians ; and in concert rooms it is a raised platform occupied by both vocal and in- strumental performers. Previous to the com- mencement of the 18th century the instrumen- tal performers in theatres were placed in a box on the side of the stage and out of view of the greater part of the audience. The term orchestra is more commonly applied to a body of instrumental performers in which the vio- lin family predominates. A body of musicians using principally wind instruments is popularly called a band. One of the earliest examples of the composition of an orchestra is afforded by Rinuccini's opera Euridice (1600), in which the instrumental part was sustained by a harpsi- chord, a large guitar, a viol, a large lute, and flutes. In Monteverde's opera of Orfeo, per- formed in 1604, 35 instruments were employed, including 17 of the violin species, and 12 wind instruments, chiefly to accompany the voice, although only a few of them were played at the same time. Subsequently the stringed in- struments were increased, to the almost total exclusion of other kinds, and the works of Oavalli, Carissimi, and Lully are written prin- cipally for violins, violas of different degrees of power, bass viols, and double bass viols. Bach composed a number of symphonies for orches- tra. They were written for two horns, two flutes, two hautboys, violins, viola, violoncello, piano (Fliigel), and double bass. Lully some- times employed flutes, bassoons, and trom- bones ; but it was not until after the time of Haydn's later works that the wind instruments, whether of brass or wood, began to be recog- nized as an indispensable part of the orchestra. The smallest number of performers in a grand orchestra is estimated at 60, and the hall where- in they play should be of moderate size ; but for the greatest effects 100 and upward must be employed. The instruments of which the mod- ern orchestra is composed are of three classes, stringed, wind, and pulsatile, as follows : STRINGED. WIND. PULSATILE. First violins. Flutes. Kettle drums. Second violins. Violas. Violoncellos. Hautboys. Clarinets. Bassoons. Cymbals. Triangle. Double basses. Horns. Trumpets. Trombones. To these instruments modern composers oc- casionally add others for special effects, such as the harp, pianoforte, corno Inglese, organ, tuba, bells, and bass and snare drums. ORCHIDS, a large family of plants (orchida- cece), the typical genus of which is orchis (the ancient name of the plant). Popularly any plant of the family, of whatever genus, is called an orchis. The orchids are monocotyledonous (endogenous), herbaceous plants, differing con- 620 VOL. xii. 43 siderably in their manner of growth;, some have their rootstocks thickened to form un- derground tubers, while others have the bases of their connate leaves, together with the thickened base of the stem, much swollen to form a large above-ground tuber-like body, called a pseudo-bulb. The leaves present a great variety ; some are thin and of short du- ration, others thick, fleshy, and persistent ; and while some genera present a broad expanse of foliage, in others the leaves are linear, or long and cylindrical, like a piece of whip cord. The flowers are terminal and solitary, or dis- posed in a raceme or panicle ; and the struc- FHJ. 1. Structure of Flower in Orchids (Ilabenaria orbiculata). ture in these is so strikingly unlike that in other flowers that a plant of this family is readily recognized. The flowers are six-parted ; the three outer parts, corresponding to the ca- lyx, are usually petal-like, and these with the three inner parts, or corolla, are often so unlike in size and shape that the flowers are usually conspicuously irregular; this irregularity is mostly due to one of the three petals, which in the flower appears lowermost ; this is called the lip or labellum, and is usually quite dissimilar to the other two petals. In the greater green orchis (habenaria orbiculata), fig. 1, selected for illustration on account of its simpler struc- ture, the three sepals (1), the upper larger than the other two, are much broader than the pe- tals, two of which are seen (2) pointing up- ward, while the third, the lip (3), extends downward like a long flat ribbon; in other species the lip spreads out like a broad fan, which is sometimes lobed and beautifully