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LANDSCAPE GARDENING 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING 



that the last resting place should be surrounded by the 

 quietness and beauty of these features of nature's handi- 

 work without distracting stonework or artificial objects. 

 There are others who say that "the cemetery should be 

 a cemetery," meaning by this expression that it should 

 resemble somewhat closely the old church- 

 yard or graveyard, with its multitude of 

 crowded stones, inscribed with the names 

 and good qualities of all buried within its _ ^_ 



walls. 



All agree that the cemetery should be so 

 situated and maintained as to menace in no 

 way the healthfulness of surrounding neigh- 

 borhoods. The ideal location is one where 

 the ground is somewhat undulating and thor- 

 oughly drained by having a porous subsoil, 

 while the surface soil is sufficiently rich and 

 deep to support a good growth of vegetation. 

 In some instances, as at Forest Hills, Boston, 

 Mass., and at Woodlawn, New York, it has 

 been necessary to blast and remove rock and 

 then fill in the space with earth. In other 

 cases, the natural soil has been so poor that 

 it has been necessary to cover it with rich 

 earth hauled from a long distance. In still 

 other cases, it has been found necessary 

 to select a clay soil because there was no 

 other, or to make ground by excavating lakes, 

 using the material excavated to raise the sur- 

 rounding land, or to bury above ground in 

 structures erected for the purpose, as at New 

 Orleans. 



When a site is chosen, it is usually sub- 

 divided into sections and lots, which must be 

 made accessible by the construction of drives and 

 walks. The drive should pass within 150 or 200 feet 

 of every place available for burial. The width of the 

 drive should vary according to the size of the ceme- 

 tery and the probable amount of driving. If the area 

 is very small, say not over four or five acres, it may be 

 unnecessary to have any drive. In a little larger area, 

 a grass drive 8 feet wide might suffice ; in one still 

 larger, a driveway 16 feet; and, finally, a cemetery de- 

 signed to accommodate large populations should have 

 good macadamized roadways 24 or 32 feet in width. 

 Walks should generally be left in grass which forms 

 part of a continuous lawn, such being better in appear- 

 ance and more easily maintained than those made of 

 gravel. The location of the drives will determine the 

 shape and size of the sections. The plans should be 

 made after a careful study of the ground in question, 

 the drives being placed so that they will have easy 

 grades, command good views, and be as few as possible 

 without being more than 300 or 400 feet apart. When 

 the ground is irregular in shape, or has steep slopes, or 



contains streams or lakes or valuable trees, these condi 

 tions may make it necessary to construct more drive 

 than would otherwise be desirable. They can general!' 

 be staked out on the ground by eye with a better eflfec 

 than if drawn first in an office by the use of some geo 



1233. A free and open center. 



1234. A flank planting, leaving the center free. 



metrical curve. They should nearly always be curved 

 to produce the most pleasing result, a curved driveway 

 being interesting because : (1) when the margins are 

 properly planted certain portions of the ground are 

 always hidden ; (2) they insure varied effects of light 

 and shade ; (3) they make the average distance from 

 the cemetery entrance to the lots shorter than if one 

 follows straight lines and turns right angles. 



An open tract, to begin with, is in many ways prefer- 

 able to one that is thickly wooded, but groups of trees 

 or single specimens that have broadened out in a natural 

 way would be very valuable, since they would help to 

 take away the naked, forbidding appearance of land 

 newly planted with young trees. On a vacant area, it 

 is usually advisable to plant some large trees for the 

 sake of immediate effect. These can be grouped about 

 the entrance, a fork in the drives, the top of a hill, the 

 margin of a lake, or other distinguishing position. The 

 objection to a piece of land covered with thick woods 

 is that the necessary thinning to get siafficient open space 

 will leave tall, spindling trees, unused to exposure. 

 These, while not very attractive in 

 themselves, are very likely to die and are 

 liable to be blown down. If there are 

 thick woods in the land chosen, the 

 trees selected to remain should be those 

 that are healthiest and have the low- 

 est branches. Some of the trees re- 

 moved might be cut off at the ground, 

 when the sprouts springing from the 

 stump will form beautiful bush -like 

 specimens. 



The necessary buildings will vary 

 with the size of the cemetery, but they 

 should always be modest in appearance 

 and suitably embellished with shrub- 

 bery and vines. The office would natu- 

 rally be placed near the entrance to 

 avoid unnecessary walking, but i 

 should not be placed immediately on 

 the highway or public street. The 

 large arch frequently built over the 

 gateway is usually too pretentious in 

 appearance and not in keeping with 

 the character of the grounds. A nat- 

 ural archway of living trees would be 

 better. The chapel, if any, should b 

 built well within the grounds to give it 

 greater seclusion and quietness. 



