DR. J. W. POUCHER. 301 



its immediate vicinity a number of decomposing, putre- 

 fying corpses, about equal to the Jiving population. I 

 have briefly mentioned the religious prejudices against 

 cremation ; but I believe they are fast disappearing, for 

 the strong opposition at first offered by the Catholic 

 clergy of Italy has, I believe, entirely ceased. I might 

 speak strongly in favor of cremation from an economic 

 point of view, w^hen we consider the modern tendency to 

 expensive funerals, and the utilizing of thousands of 

 acres of valuable land in the immediate vicinity of large 

 centres. Statistics show that the sums expended in the 

 United States, as funeral expenses, exceed the annual 

 produce of all our gold and silver mines, and equal the 

 amount of all the failures of our business houses. 



An ordinary, decent burial costs about SlOO in this 

 country, exclusive of the cost of tomb or vault; and 

 oftentimes we see luxurious burials given to people who 

 have lacked all their lifetime all the ordinary necessities 

 of life. 



Cremation, as practiced in Milan, Italy, where it has per- 

 haps reached the highest point of perfection, costs eight 

 francs — a little over one dollar and a half. This is saying 

 nothing of the enormous tracts of valuable land now 

 used as graveyards, and lost to the general uses of agri- 

 culture and industry. In the city of London, at a death 

 rate of 21 to 1,000, the annual number of deaths is about 

 81,000. Just calculate how much space is required for 

 the burial of 81,000 persons. Allowing only the small 

 space of two feet by six for each person — the bare size of 

 the grave — you can bury 3,630 bodies in an acre. At this 

 rate London requires twenty-two and one-third acres 

 every year to bury its dead. 



On the other hand, should cremation be practiced, any 

 small plot of ground could accommodate an edifice, 

 divided into compartments, that would serve for the 

 reception of the incinerated remains for ages. It has 



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