RURAL CEMETERIES. 



223 



rfielioKi the opeiiinn; bud and springing seed, types 



the reaurrection; and in the distance, let there be, 



5 jossilile, glimpses of blue hills, suggestive of the 



'll untains where the departed walk. 



■:| 3ut leaving these points, let us turn to some more 



■Tactical aspects of this subject. In choosing a site 



■ i a rur.d cemetery, land moderately elevated and 



ti ' should be selected. If the soil is not naturally 



'k , it should be made so by thorough under-drain- 



eii . It should be as near to the center of the pop- 



TK tion as it can be without exposing it to the liabil- 



',! of ever being encroached upon. 



!«1 proper site having been obtained, the grounds 



1) 'Uld be laid out by persons competent to the task. 



Ill e usual committee or trustees having the charge 



m founding a cemetery, can not do such a work, nor 



I an ordinary laud-surveyor, nor every " old coun- 



lt( gardener." Before a single stone is turned, an 



( ist should be secwred, if possible, who can appre- 



;n ;e all the capabilities of the place, and can use 



H m to the highest advantage. He should be in- 



11(1 icted to prepare a plan suited alike to the nature 



1 situation of the place he has to work upon, and 



;he, wants and means of those whom he serves; 



; then his plan should be faithfully carried out. 



t where a professional landscape gardener can not 



obtained, let the matter be entrusted to a commits 



possessing reliable taste and judgment. They 



;ly will not commit the folly of mapping off the 



uad into squares, like a chequer-board, with straight 



ds and walks, and these bounded by stiff Balsam 



3 at regular distances. (In the contrary, they will 



out certain main roads, leading by easy curves to 



parts of the cemetery, and from these, gravelled 



ks will lead to every grave. These roads will 



d, not for the mere .sake of winding, but because 

 are will indicate here and there that they should 

 so; as, for example, to avoid a tree, or hill, or 



i, or pool of water. Moreover, a portion of the 

 iind should be reserved, where the poor can buy 

 at small expense, and where the friendless and 

 stranger can be suitably interred. 

 ■| iLs to the trees suitable for such a cemetery, it is 

 ious that some variety should be sought for. Kv- 

 reens should form an important part; but were 

 e others planted, a very sombre effect would be 

 duced. Nor should the weeping varieties of de- 

 aous trees predominate, as this would render the 

 ce gloomy, and give it a very unnatural appear- 



e. There should be much of that variety which 

 ure shows us on every hand, modified somewhat 

 the peculiar character of the place, and the uses 

 .vhich it is to be devoted. Trees planted in mass- 

 Jccupy too much ground. Heavy, round-topped 

 !s, ai-e less appropriate than those with conical, 

 nted heads. Pendent, drooping trees, are suitable 

 planting at intervals in all parts of the ground. 



ergreens of every name are appropriate, intrinsi- 

 ly so, and because they have been associated from 

 e immemorial with such places. For small lots 

 cemeteries, none are so suitable, in these cold lati- 

 les, as the Norway and Hemlock Spruce, the Si- 

 ian Arbor Vit.-e, and Red Cedir. Where the 

 nate will admit of planting them, the various Juni- 

 s, Yews, and Arbor Vita;s aftbrd a wide selection.* 



See an editorial on this subject, in the Hort. for April, 1854. 



" The Cypress funeral ; 

 Tlie Laurel, meed of mighty conquerours 

 And poets sage ; the Fitn that weepeth still ; 

 Ttie Willow worne of forloroe paramours; 

 Tlie Eugh obedient to the bender's will." 



It seems to be generally conceded that flowers 

 should have a place in the rural cemetery. They 

 have a cheerful aspect, and are emblematical of our 

 immortality. But a continual digging of the soil 

 above the dead, suggests the unpleasant idea of mat 

 treating their remains: it at least conflicts with the 

 idea of complete repose. Is there not more real 

 beauty and grandeur in simply well-kept trees and 

 grass and monuments, lighteil up here and there 

 with gleams of sunshine ? If flowers are introduced, 

 it should not be for a gaudy horticultural display, but 

 as an expression of affectionate remembrance ; and 

 they should be few in number, and delicate in form, 

 size, and color. A white Rose by the side of a tomb- 

 stone, the Violet, and Daisey, and Myrtle, are always 

 appropriate and pleasing. 



On the subject of monuments and their inscriptions, 

 we will presume to offer only a few suggestions. A 

 very common and unpleasant featHre of our ordinary 

 grave-yards is that of monuments leaning over and 

 falling to the ground. Tke only way to keep grave- 

 stones erect, in our climate, is to imbed them in solid 

 mason-work laid below frost; or, better still, on stone 

 piers built up from the bottom of the grave. The 

 most durable monuments are those composed of the 

 fewest blocks of stone, thus exposing only a small 

 number of joints to the action of the weather. Care 

 should be taken, also, that the stones have no cracks 

 or seams or visible defects of any kind. As to tho 

 material best adapted for monumental purposes, the 

 writer will not undertake to give an opinion. The 

 best marbles of this cot^try are peri.shable; and even 

 the finest of the Italian, which in Southern Europe 

 stand unharmed for centuries, under our harsher skies 

 soon corrode. Granite, sienite, and some other of the 

 older and harder rocks, are very durable; and for 

 plain, ma,ssive monuments, are quite appropriate. 

 Experiments which have been tried with the red 

 sandstone of New Jersey, seem to indicate that it will 

 prove to be one of the best stones for monuments 

 that can be used iu this country.f 



As to the character and style of monuments, it 

 would be presumptuous to lay down any uaiversal 

 and invariable rule. What would be suitable for a 

 king, or an eminent statesman, or a great puljlic ben- 

 efactor, would not, probably, be suitable for a private 

 citizen, whether he were rich or poor. A huge mon- 

 ument piled to the sky, and bedecked with ornaments, 

 simply because the occupant of the grave beneath it, 

 or his friends, had money enough to build it, is vulgar 

 in the extreme. Monuments which are miniatures of 

 certain ancient and famous structures, are also objec- 

 tionable; for, what looked well on a foreign shore, 

 and when built of lofty height and corresponding 

 proportions, often appears ridiculous when reduced 

 to a few feet, and imperfectly cut and balanced. 

 When a work of this kind is attempted, it should be 

 entrusted only to the most skilful hands. Objections 

 may be urged against altars, and tablets placed hori- 

 zontally, that their inscriptions are liable to become 

 defaced, and that they soon lose their horizontal po- 



f See a paper on the subject of " Monumentfi^" published by tha 

 Greenwood Cemetery Association. 



