THE CARE AND EMBELLISHMENT OF CEMETERIES. 175 



petual care of every lot, combined with the lawn plan of laying 

 out the grounds, makes it much easier to care for them than when 

 they are laid out in the old style, and with libert}' to every 

 purchaser to establisli his own grade, so that one lot is high and 

 another low. As I am writing I call to mind a cemetery, a portion 

 of which is quite level, and yet on this very part the amount of 

 filling put in is so great that the paths have the appearance of 

 ditches, more than anj'thing else ; and long flights of- steps are 

 necessarily provided to very many of the lots to make them 

 accessible ; and the interments cannot be more than a foot or two, if 

 so much, below the grade of the avenues and paths. Imagine 

 this to take care of! 



Have not I succeeded in showing why it is that a man can do 

 double and in some cases treble the effective work, where the 

 grounds are laid out on the lawn plan ? In the one case thei'e is a 

 bank or terrace to nearly every lot that he works on, and the 

 sickle is in constant use ; in the other, he has little use for any- 

 thing but his mowing machine and the wooden lawn grass rake. 

 Again, remember that, under our hot suns in July and August, 

 nothing can be more unsightly than a long extent of dried up sun- 

 burnt banks and terraces. Considering all these facts, are we not 

 justified in advocating the landscape lawn plan, both for effective- 

 ness and economy, in the care of our cemeteries? 



Practical experience teaches me that an all-important point, in 

 the care of our cemeteries, is a proper division of the work. For 

 years I have laid out our work in sections ; assigning two men onl}' 

 to a section. Their duty is to keep all lots trimmed and quite clean, 

 the flower beds free from weeds, and the vases watered ; and (when 

 the grass does not grow so fast as to keep them constantly busy) 

 they are also expected to keep the paths and avenues clean, in their 

 respective sections. I hold one of these two men responsible for 

 the work ; and, by so doing, if I see a neglected lot at any time, I 

 know just whom to go to about it. He cannot tell me — " 1 did not 

 do that last." I try to have a general oversight of the work, exam- 

 amiuing it myself once every day, and twice if other duties do 

 not prevent me. I think it is well the Superintendent should be ex- 

 pected often ; and sometimes it is well for him to go when he is not 

 expected. To be still more explicit, I believe the Superintendent 

 should as far as possible know everything that is going on, allow 

 no one to stand between him and his men, and above all, if possi- 



