CHAPTER I. Material-Essential Parts-The Bellows. THE subject of construction is of such great scope, that in entering its precincts we would warn our readers that we can merely hope to give them a clear idea of the various parts of an organ, together with the manner in which those parts should be constructed, that they may be able the more readily to judge of any instruments brought under their notice, and discover without difficulty those internal defects which stamp an organ as inferior, or by their absence proclaim it the offspring of a good workman. The art of carpentry we cannot entertain here; and though it may be possible for an amateur already versed therein to build from our description an organ, it would be hopeless for him who is not an adept in the use of the tools to attempt to construct an instrument by the aid of the following chapters. We should, to render such possible, have to wade through all the more delicate and intricate paths travelled by the skilled artificer in attaining his prowess, which in itself would form a prodigious volume, without in any direct way teaching aught of organs in particular. On the other hand, it is our great object to render it a work of ease to all who may have occasion or desire to set right any of the thousand-and-one little errors, which so often render an organ for the time being useless, more especially in those provincial districts far from the workshop, and to which the tuner comes only at long intervals; as also to be competent judges of the value of any or every organ on the merits of which they may be called upon to decide. Before entering into any description whatever of the organ, we must point out that in this, more than any other instrument, it is essential to use the best materials throughout its entire construction. This cannot be too emphatically enforced, for the organ is so compound an instrument that any failure on the part of internal mechanism may be attended with results at once serious and expensive. Not only does this hold good with regard to the pipes and sound-producing elements, but also to the sound commanding portions, and we are not going too far in asserting that no builder, however skilled, can produce an organ worthy the name out of any save the best materials. It is seen in the art of pianoforte manufacture how overwhelming an advantage the large firms hold over the small makers who from time to time start on their own account. This is almost entirely owing to the fact that the former, having capital, can afford to keep and season their own wood, which the small tradesman has neither the room to warehouse nor the money to procure. This being the case in relation to the pianoforte, how much more must it apply to the organ, whose mechanism is so much more delicate, so much greater in extent, and so difficult of access ? Seasoning is the guard against warping, and well-seasoned wood assumes the shape that it will retain until, overcome by age, it goes the way of all matter. How necessary, therefore, is it that the organ, perhaps miles from the factory or skilled workman, with its long trackers, delicate draw-stop action, and the like, should be at once free from the possibility of so serious a fault, and that it should be able to withstand fair tests and atmospheric influences without undergoing this fatal change. Let the dictum of him who would have an organ, and not a troublesome wheezing machine, be ever, seasoned wood, best material, from the ivory on the keyboard to the varnish on the case. As regards this seasoning it may be well to mention that there has been a method introduced of subjecting wood to a species of baking in a heated chamber, which takes the place of ordinary seasoning, but as it sometimes warps after this process, it must be banished at once as useless to the organ builder, however useful it may be in saving time in other trades. Seasoning proper is effected by subjecting wood, first, to the action of the atmosphere and water, by floating in a reservoir or exposing to the rain, for such a time as will ensure the absence of vegetable life or sap, and afterwards stacking it in covered sheds or warehouses, where it is exposed to the dry air. Well seasoned wood is sapless, and under fair circumstances has no tendency to change its shape. In describing the various parts of an organ we shall confine ourself at first to those which are essential to the ordinary instrument, leaving the more recent and less necessary actions for future consideration. There are two great divisions in the parts of an organ-those concerned in soundproducing and those concerned in sound-commanding—after which there is an immediate and natural division between those parts connected with the collection, reservation, and distribution of wind, and those in relation to the various actions called in to aid in the command of the said distribution. The names of the more important of these parts are as follow: Bellows, Windtrunk, Windchest, Top-board, and Pipes, to which must be added the actions in connection with the several claviers, registers, &c. The following table may make matters a little clearer : There are, of course, many important matters not mentioned in the table that are essential, and which will be fully described, but the above are the great divisions it is necessary at once to understand. In speaking of each one separately, its use, position, and surroundings will be fully entered into. Taking them in turn, we first should arrive at the Bellows, which are the wind collectors of the instrument, and whose soundness and perfection are of paramount importance. There are two kinds of bellows that have been used for organs, diagonal and horizontal, but as it was found that it required many diagonal bellows to supply even an ordinary instrument, they have been almost entirely superseded by the horizontal kind. We therefore shall not describe the former, but proceed at once to a description of those which are now generally used. " and Bellows consist of two parts, termed respectively the "Feeder the "Reservoir," of which the reservoir is generally placed immediately over the feeder. These parts consist of three layers of wood, called respectively the top-board (T T, Fig. 6), middle-board (M м, Fig. 6), and bottom-board (B, Fig. 6), in direct relation to their position as regards each other. The size of these must depend entirely on the instrument they are destined to supply. The top-board in large organs is often made with a frame and panels like an ordinary house door, and it is convenient always to have a movable panel in order to be able to reach valves in the middle-board if at any time necessary. The middle-board is made larger than either the top-board or feeders, and is a fixture, being placed in a frame which supports the whole bellows; it is, therefore, necessary that it should be made very strong. On the middle-board is attached the band (BB B B, Fig. 7), which is composed of thick boards placed edgeways round the middle-board, and inclosing the same space as is the size of the top-board. The use of this band is for the insertion of the wind trunk or trunks. The outside of the band is marked n n in Fig. 6, and the wind trunk w. It is often usual to place little posts on the middle |