PARK AND CEMETERY. 
SOME PATENTED DEVICES FOR 
Receiving Vault Construction 
W. I. Hood, of Norwalk, O., has 
been granted a patent for a receiving 
vault illustrated in the accompanying 
diagram. The exterior walls of the 
structure are provided- with air cham- 
bers into which the ports of the cat- 
acombs communicate; these air cham- 
bers lead to a common point of escape 
at the highest point in the wall, thus 
conducting any gases, that might ac- 
cumulate, out into the air. Figure 1 
is a side elevation. Fig. 2 a plan. 
Fig. 3 a front elevation of the cata- 
comb, and Fig. 4 a vertical sectional 
view of the catacombs. 
The vault comprises the hall or 
lobby 1 of sufficient size to accommo- 
date a funeral train. The hall is pro- 
vided with gates 2 and in the pre- 
ferred form (see Fig. 2) is provided 
on each side with an urn-room and 
toilet. The urn-room is fitted with 
seamless concrete lockers, as recep- 
vided with the valve-ports 7 and it is 
through these ports that the air is 
exhausted from the interior of the cat- 
acombs, when the casket is first de- 
posited. At the base of each tier of 
catacombs is provided a shelf 8, which 
may be used for supporting floral de- 
signs and appropriate emblems, and 
at the, same time serve as guides in 
directing the casket into the cata- 
comb. The catacombs are so spaced 
from the walls of the vault that in 
event of settling of the walls, the cata- 
combs will not be disturbed. (Patent 
No. 858,070.) 
A Grave Shield 
A grave shield, designed to prevent 
the collapsing of the sides of graves 
in treacherous and shifting soil, and 
also in running sand is the subject of 
a recent English patent by F. T. White 
an undertaker of Yewbury street, 
Trowbridge, London, and was illus- 
tacles for ashes of those v/ho may be 
cremated. 
The catacombs 4, 4 are arranged in 
vertical rows, tier upon tier, and sep- 
arated from each other by partitions, 
preferably of concrete cement, the 
lower surface of the floor of one set 
ot catacombs forming the tops of the 
next set of catacombs below. The 
floor is preferably of concrete cement. 
The rear ends are provided with the 
valved ports 5, which communicate 
wth the air spaces or passage 6 in the 
outer walls of the crypt. The air pas- 
sage has an outlet at the ports 5. The 
front ends of the catacombs are pro- 
trated in the Undertakers’ Journal of 
that city. 
The shield is made the shape and 
length of the grave. Each side is 
dropped into position separately, be- 
ing made of sheet and angle iron, its 
depth being eighteen inches (smallest 
size twelve inches). It may be used 
in tiers, two or three in a grave. The 
shield can be made of the length of 
full sized graves or shortened in a few 
moments for smaller ones. It is also 
adjustable in width. The shield can 
be put in position by the grave-dig- 
ger in five minutes and taken out in 
less time when the interment hns end- 
•2 Ob 
CEMETERY USE 
4 
AUTOMATIC GRAVE COVER. 
ed. Should the soil show a tendency 
to give way, say at three feet below 
the surface, a shield can be put in, 
and as the sinking proceeds another 
or more can be added if required, ac- 
cording to the nature of the soil and 
the depth of the grave. 
Automatic Grave Cover 
An invention of Andrew McMullen, 
Westport, Conn., has for its object 
to provide a device for use at inter- 
ments, that will conceal the box 
which receives the casket and when 
the box is lowered will automatically 
cover and wholly conceal the grave. 
Fig. 1 is an end view, the covering 
device being shown in full lines in the 
position it occupies before the box 
is lowered, and the box being shown 
in dotted lines lowered to a position 
in which it engages the closing rod 
and also in dotted lines at the bottom 
of a grave, and the cover being shown 
in dotted lines in the fully closed po- 
sition. Fig. 2 is a detail view illus- 
trating the detachable connection of 
one of the closing rod arms to the end 
frame. 
AN ENGLISH GR.WE SHIELD. 
