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The usual number of pipes in each tower is in England three, in France five, and in Germany seven (in the Tyrol, flat towers with seven pipes are the rule); but to these numbers there are many exceptions. Towers with two stories of pipes are in use in Holland, Belgium, and Germany, but I cannot call to mind any in England or in France. In general the number of pipes in the upper story exceeds that of the lower. A single pipe either forming a compartment, or projecting so as to form a tower, is not a good feature, except when, as in some of the North German organs, a thirty-two feet pipe is used as a tower. In some flat towers, four pipes are inserted instead of five; but an uneven number, I think, is more satisfactory to the eye. It does not look well for all the pipes in a compartment to be of the same height, and it is still worse when all the flats are alike: for this reason the organ in Exeter Hall is ugly, and good as the case is in Rouen Cathedral, it would be much improved if some gradation in the pipe lengths were introduced into its four similar compartments.

In the flats, two tiers of pipes are common in English and Dutch organs, and in Holland more often appear in large cases. Oval and circular openings for pipes are used in England, and more rarely in France: it is an artificial mode of arranging pipe work. There are a few examples of pipes being arranged to form a perspective, which may be looked upon as a fanciful conceit. Panels carved to give the same effect are not quite so outré. In Holland and North Germany, inverted pipes are to be met with: they in general stand on the wood framing, but at Perpignan (France) there is a flat of inverted pipes which hang from the case by their feet. I fancy that in general these are shams, but an inverted pipe would not be liable to be choked with dust. In Dutch fronts occasionally double pipes, or what may be more correctly styled two pipes with their feet joined together, are used: those that I have seen were dummies, as no means of supplying them with wind was to be seen. Projecting mouths are a great finish to large pipes. French builders are often very good at this work; but it may be overdone, as in the new organ in Chester Cathedral, where the mouths are certainly exaggerated. Old French builders sometimes inserted a few pipes with various fancy mouldings about them, brightened with paint. The organ of Gonesse has some, and two are preserved as curiosities in the Museum at Beauvais. Pipes with their surface hammered into facets are rare. At Hertogenbosch, the centre pipes of the towers are so treated, and are also plain gilt; but that in the central tower is parcel gilt. Belgian and Dutch organs often have the mouths of their bright tin pipes gilt, which has a good effect. I have no great liking for diapered (painted or illuminated) pipes, even if it has taken a fortnight to paint each, as has lately been done; it gives the idea that it is necessary to hide bad workmanship, or poor metal. Coronals to the pipes, however elaborate, had best be eschewed, although in caseless organs they give a sort of finish to the pipes. But after all I have said against painted pipes, one cannot help liking the bright appearance of a small case, with well-coloured pipes, even if one doubts how it will look after a few years, when the freshness has departed. Plain gilding perhaps looks well longer than anything else. Tin pipes, when dull, have a very neglected look; and nothing can look worse than bronzed pipes. In Spain, it is the custom to place the Reed Stops so that their tubes project horizontally, or at an angle from the case: this throws out their sound.A This arrangement is not common in England, but might be adopted with good effect both for tone and appearance. The Tuba at York, projecting from the west façade of the organ, is most satisfactory in both respects; any arranging of trumpets, like a fan or half-circle at the top of the case, is as well avoided.