There should be nothing in the place or manner of their interment, to detract from 

 our tender and respectful veneration for the de^. But this can hardly be avoided, if 

 their fjraves are dug in a dismal and unsightly spot. How much better to choose 

 some retired, sunny sIo})e, the most beautiful in the region around us, and make it 

 sacred as a burial-j»lace forever. Here, let there be trees with their grateful and soul- 

 subduing shade ; there, let us see the open lawn and cheerful sunshine ; around us, on 

 every hand, let us behold the opening bud and springing seed, types of the resurrec- 

 tion ; and in the distance, let there be, if possible, glimpses of blue hills, suggestive of 

 the mountains where the departed walk. 



But leaving these points, let us turn to some more practical aspects of this subject. 

 In choosing a site for a rural cemetery, land moderately elevated and dry should be 

 selected. If the soil is not naturally dry, it should be made so by thorough under- 

 draining. It should be as near to the center of the population as it can be without 

 exposing it to the liability of ever being encroached upon. 



A proper site having been obtained, the grounds should be laid out by persons com- 

 petent to the task. The usual committee or trustees having the charge of founding a 

 cemetery, can not do such a work, nor can an ordinary land-surveyor, nor every "old- 

 country gardener." Before a single stone is turned, an artist should be secured, if 

 possible, who can appreciate all the capabilities of the place, and can use them to the 

 highest advantage. lie should be instructed to prepare a plan suited alike to the 

 nature and situation of the place he has to work upon, and to the wants and means of 

 those whom he serves ; and then his plan should be faithfully carried out. But where 

 a professional landscape gardener can not be obtained, let the matter be entrusted to a 

 committee possessing reliable taste and judgment. They surely will not commit the 

 folly of mapping oft' the ground into squares, like a checker-board, with straight roads 

 and walks, and these bounded by stiff Balsam Firs at regular distances. On the con- 

 trary, they will lay out certain main roads, leading by easy curves to all parts of the 

 cemetery, and from these, gravelled walks will lead to every grave. These roads will 

 wind, not for the mere sake of winding, but because nature will indicate, here and 

 there, that they should do so ; as, for example, to avoid a tree, or hill, or rock, or pool 

 of water. Moreover, a portion of the ground should be reserved, where the poor can 

 buy lots at small expense, and where the friendless and the stranger can be suitably 

 interred. 



As to the trees suitable for such a cemetery, it is obvious that some variety should 

 be sought for. Evergreens should form an important part; but were none others 

 ])lanted, a very sombre eft'ect would be produced. Nor should the weeping varieties 

 of deciduous trees predominate, as this would render the place gloomy, and give it a 

 very unnatural appearance. There should be much of that variety which nature shows 

 us on every hand, modified somewhat by the peculiar character of the place and the 

 uses to which it is to be devoted. Trees planted in masses occupy too much ground. 

 Heavy, round-topped trees, are less appropriate than those with conical, pointed heads. 

 Pendent, drooping trees, are suitable for planting at intervals in all parts of the ground. 

 Evergreens of every name are appropriate, intrinsically so, and because they have been 

 associated from time immemorial with such places. For small lots in cemeteries, none 

 are so suitable, in these cold latitudes, as the Norway and Hemlock Spruces, the 



