The past few days has seen the placing in position of some of the largest pipes in the whole of the irsteument. These which belong to the 2 ft. pedal Double Open Diapason stop, a comparative luxury which is not found on most organs, fare enormous in size, the largest of them filling the full' height of the organ chamber, 'They'
30°ft. in length while in they. measure two fact across.
these big giants in position ren the greatest care for the half a ton.
However, the task ha now been accomplished and they form a row against the back wall of the transept. Not being amongst the ornamental pipes which are are ranged at the front of the instrument they will probably never meet. the eye of the casual observer when the organ reaches completion, A highly intricate piece of mechanism elaborate system of tubes, ome 2,000 in all, which controls the various couplers and enables the organist to join up the various oe! This is placed immediately manuals or couple super and sub-
behind " the keyboard and was hoisted with some difficulty to organ chamber on accounts of weight. Like all the various parts of the' organ it had to be taken through a narrow archway at the end of the north aisle, and weighing ton It required 18'mon to carry The total number of pipes wile organ is no less than 2,630 ranging from the 30°ft. giants. already described to others less than half an inch Tengti, when measured from the mouth upwards, fand thinner than a slate pencil. Every one of these is a musical instrument in itself and must de Jearefully tuned and tested.
The Mechanical Control An interesting feature of the modern organ is the method in which the mechanical control and mechanism is effected. organs as in the case of the former organ, of which we will have more to say later, this was accomplished by a very elaborate system of levers known technically as trackers. Ina very large y difficult. action Often electri ig used, but on account of the damp jelimate in Shanghai and the neces sity of frequent attention it was thought better to adopt the equally satisfactory system of tubular pnewmatic action. This is composed simply of numerous tubes which convey the action of the pressing of m key by forcing a column of 1d air along a tube to the part of the organ required.
"The History of the Organ" to Jquote Sir John Stainer ina work Jon this subject "is nothing more than a narrative of the efforts ma by men to bring to the control of one performer, a large number of flutes. find th at once had been accomplished and \the pretty effect of the two-part harmony of the "double flute" urged men on to the construction of some-{thing approaching an organ. After that it was a comparatively simple [matter to place several flutes on a [box of wind supplied not by human lungs but by bellows.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.