252 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



We now come to the item of planting trees and shrubbery. 

 At Lakewood we use largely the native shrubs from the woods 

 for screens and borders, while the more ornamental ones are used 

 for grouping throughout the grounds. A great tendency exists 

 among people interested in cemeteries to plant too much, thus 

 shutting out from view many beautiful features, and for this reason 

 all planting should be under the control of the management, and 

 a plan formulated for the same which should embrace the entire 

 grounds. There is such a wide diversity of opinion as to what 

 constitutes judicious planting, that this feature should be placed in 

 the hands of some practical cemetery man to work out. 



Next we come to platting the sections into lots, and here is 

 a point which must be governed by local conditions entirely. The 

 generally accepted size for family lots is from 15x21 to 18x21, al- 

 though we plat them as small as 9x10 for four burials and as large 

 as 40x40 in our regular plats, and of an area of several thousand 

 square feet on special sections. Probably the demand would be 

 principally for four, six, eight and ten burial plats. In addition to 

 the family lots a place must be provided for single burials, where 

 strangers can be placed and temporary burials made. 



Regarding maintenance of cemeteries I would say that a prop- 

 erly constructed cemetery kept clean is well maintained: roads 

 must be free from weeds and l'oose stones, borders well trimmed, 

 and the grass cut close and well raked. 



One of the most important features to be considered in start- 

 ing a new cemetery is the rules governing the erection of stone 

 work. All really modern cemeteries prohibit the slabs and high 

 headstones which we see in older cemeteries, and permit the erec- 

 tion of but one stone on each lot which shall project above the 

 surface of the ground, this to be the family monument, all indi- 

 vidual stones being set as tablets with their surface on a level with 

 the surrounding ground. This leaves on unobstructed view across 

 the sections, save where broken by the trees, shrubs and monu- 

 ments, and adds greatly to the ease and economy of maintenance. 

 No fences, copings, lot marks, or corners or, in fact, anything to 

 outline a lot should be permitted. The work of building all foun- 

 dations should be performed by the management, as should be the 

 setting of monuments and markers. 



In closing I would speak of the necessity of providing a per- 

 manent maintenance fund. This should be done by setting aside 

 a certain amount for every square foot of ground sold, this fund 

 to be placed in the hands of trustees selected for the purpose and 



