In the book of Genesis it is written: “Jubal, he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.” It is not to be understood that the word organ in this passage meant an instrument anything like that heard in our churches at the present day. In fact, as St. Augustine tells us, there was a time when all musical instruments were called organs. =The Germ of the Organ=.—The invention of the organ is veiled in deepest darkness. Its development from its earliest forms to its present state has occupied a period of almost two thousand years. Doubtless, the first idea of a wind instrument was suggested by the breeze blowing across the open ends of broken reeds, the discovery naturally following that reeds of different lengths gave forth sounds of varying pitch. In course of time, reeds or pipes, differing in length, began to be joined together, conveniently arranged so as to produce a succession of musical sounds, the players blowing them with the mouth. These instruments were called =Pan’s Pipes=, the =Syrinx= of the ancient Greeks. =The First Stage of Development=.—As the number of pipes was increased, the moving of the head back and forth in order to blow them became difficult. The pipes were then placed in a sort of box or wind chest, a tube being added through which the player could blow, the pipes not intended to sound being closed by the fingers. Furthermore, as the pipes were increased in number and in size, it became necessary to employ various mechanical accessories to furnish adequate wind supply, and to open and close the pipes at will, the breath and fingers of the player proving insufficient. A device was invented in the form of a slide, rule or tongue of wood, which was placed beneath the aperture of the pipe, and perforated so as to shut off or admit wind to the pipe as it was drawn back or forth. The earliest form of bellows might be suggested by the leathern bag of the bagpipe. In this the wind pressure was unsteady and the tone necessarily disconnected. [Illustration: PAN’S PIPES (SYRINX). EARLY FORM OF THE ORGAN.]