Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/727

 ORTON rooms on oats, millet, and spiced bread, on which the flesh becomes very fat and of a high and delicious flavor ; they are considered per- fect when they attain the weight of three ounces. Ortolans are numerous in Japan, and are very abundant on the island of Cyprus, ORYIETO 713 Ortolan (Emberiza hortulana). where they are pickled in casks with spice and vinegar, each cask containing 300 or 400 birds ; in some years the number of casks exported has amounted to 400. In ancient Eome epi- cures paid enormous prices for these delicacies, and they are still greatly relished ; many are annually prepared for the tables of the rich. It is a handsome bird, and has a flute-like warble, but is chiefly prized for the table. ORTON, James, an American naturalist, born at Seneca Falls, N. Y., April 21, 1830. He graduated at Williams college in 1855, and at the Andover theological seminary in 1858, and, after travelling in Europe and the East, was ordained a Congregational minister in 1860. In 1866 he became instructor in the natural sciences in Rochester university, and in 1867 led an expedition from Williams college across South America, by Quito, the Napo, and the Amazon, discovering the first fossils found in the Amazon valley. Since 1869 he has been professor of natural history in Vassar college. In 1873 he made a second journey across South America, from Para up the Amazon to Lima and Lake Titicaca. He has published " The Miner's Guide and Metallurgist's Directory " (18mo, New York, 1849) ; "The Proverbialist and Poet " (8vo, Philadelphia, 1852) ; " The Andes and the Amazon " (8vo, New York, 1870) ; " Underground Treasures : how and where to find them " (12mo, Hartford, 1872); " The Liberal Education of Women " (12mo, New York, 1873); and "Comparative Zoolo- gy" (8vo, 1875). ORTYGIA. See DELOS, and SYRACUSE. ORURO. I. A W. department of Bolivia, occupying a large proportion of the great plain of its own name, sometimes also called the valley of the Desaguadero, bordering on Peru ; area, 21,600 sq. m. ; pop. about 112,000. It lies between the eastern and western cordi- lleras of the Andes, but no appearance of vol- canic action is anywhere presented, and the department is never visited by earthquakes. The face of the country is generally undulating. It is drained by the river Desaguadero, which is the only outlet of Lake Titicaca, and flows into Lake Aullagas in this department, which has no visible issue. The silver mines of the Cerro de Oruro, of El Turco in the province of Carangas, and of Popo have long been celebrated for their abundant yield. Gold is also found. The tin mines of this department are among the richest in the world ; and large quantities of rock salt have been exported from Carangas and Curahuara. On this great plateau, notwithstanding a mean elevation of 13,340 ft. above the sea, extremes of heat and cold are rare; but violent tempests are fre- quent during the wet season, from November to April. The chief agricultural products are potatoes and quinoa, a common substitute for them. Barley and wheat do not ripen here, but are cut for forage. In the more sheltered valleys fruits are plentiful, the vine thrives, and very good wine is made. Guanacos, al- pacas, llamas, and vicunas everywhere abound, and there are numerous cattle and sheep in Carangas. The department is divided into the provinces of Oruro, Popo or Poopo, Carangas, and Porco. II. A fortified city, the capital and only important town of the department, in a valley about 27 m. long, about 200 m. N. W. of Sucre. It has regular streets, but the houses, once among the finest in the republic, are now much dilapidated. The only public edifices of importance are nine churches, the town hall, and barracks. Agriculture, mining, and the manufacture of coarse woollens and cheese are the chief occupations. Oruro was founded in 1590, and called San Felipe de Austria. The seat of the executive government of Bolivia was transferred thither in 1869 from La Paz; and a railway to Tarapaca in Peru was con- tracted for in 1872. ORYET. See BLINDWORM. ORVIETO, a town of Italy, in the province of Perugia, on the right bank of the Paglia, at the confluence of the Chiana, 60 m. N. N. W. of Rome ; pop. about 8,000 ; of the commune, about 15,000. It has been the seat of a bishop since 509. It has a magnificent Gothic cathe- dral of white and black marble, dating from the 14th century and filled with remarkable works of art; several palaces, one of which is also rich in works of art; and deserted convents and ruined churches. The town is on a high steep hill, and is well built and clean and surrounded by a wall. Orvieto is cele- brated for its white wine, and has a consid- erable trade in cattle, grain, and silk. Since the opening of the Orte trunk railway, March 13, 1874, it has grown rapidly in population