110 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Discussion. 



John C. Hovey said that it was largel}' through the genius and 

 energy of the first President of this Society, General Henry A. S. 

 Dearborn, that the first rural cemetery, Mount Auburn, was 

 established. This was in 1831, and in 1848 Forest Hills Cemetery 

 in Roxbury was consecrated and for this also we are mainly 

 indebted to General Dearborn. The paper just read shows what 

 has been the influence of these cemeteries, not only in this vicin- 

 ity, but through the whole country. 



Henry Ross, said that he has charge of one of those country 

 cemeteries (at Newton) referred to as being, in its design and 

 development, inspired b}' Mount Auburn and Forest Hills. How 

 cemeteries shall be planned at the outset is one of the most 

 important points for their projectors to decide. The landscape- 

 lawn plan is generally the most practicable. In grading, we 

 should, as a rule, follow the natural lay of the land, keeping all 

 the undulations, and varying from nature only to make the scene 

 more beautiful. In cases where there is too little undulation, it 

 is eas}' to raise up hills to break the monotony. He would first 

 lay out avenues. These should have an easy grade, which can be 

 secured by winding round the graceful curves of higher grounds, 

 or the sides of depressions, avoiding all cuts and fillings as much 

 as possible. In selecting material for roadway construction, one 

 must be governed b}"^ the circumstances of location. In loose 

 gravel, as at Newton, he would grade with the natural gravel, 

 then lay on four or five inches of blue gravel if it can be obtained ; 

 if not, then gravel mixed with a little cla}-. In a stiff clay soil, 

 the roadway should be dug out two feet deep, and from one foot 

 to fifteen inches of broken stone put in ; then two inches of sand, 

 and from four to six inches of binding gravel to finish. Avenues 

 forty feet wide, of which we sometimes hear, are inconsistent with 

 the landscape-lawn plan. The}' should never be over eighteen or 

 twenty feet, except within from two hundred to four hundred feet 

 of the entrance gate. He would not have gravel walks. All 

 pathways should be sodded, and the grass kept short b}"^ frequent 

 use of the lawn mower. By this method, while securing greater 

 symmetry in the plan, a large saving of expense is effected, both 

 in making of walks, and in keeping them clean and in good repair. 



