serve — the human element. After courte- 
ous, sympathetic discussion, advice and ar- 
gument have failed to convince, as a last 
and final resort we may invoke the power 
and force of laws, ordinance rules and 
regulations, all of which to my way of 
thinking have little other use or function 
in the administration of the affairs of a 
modern cemetery than to serve as a bar- 
rier to hide behind, when other resources 
have failed to produce the desired results. 
When a lot owner wishes to do that which 
is wrong and forbidden by law or rules, I 
feel that the superintendent who opens the 
discussion by a declaration that they cannot 
do it because the rules prohibit it, has been 
guilty of a gross error of judgment as an 
executive cemetery official. 
Apart from the care and watchfulness 
over our ancient grounds involving much 
investigation, inquiry and correspondence 
which brings me into more or less intimate 
touch with antiquarians, people interested 
in historical research, as well as with the 
descendents of those ancient people of early 
colonial days wdio designed and began the 
work of building this great and glorious 
country of ours, my activities do not vary 
much from those of most of you. We 
have done much in the way of renovating, 
improving and modernizing the older parts 
of our active cemeteries. In the earlier de- 
veloped sections, particularly at Mt. Hope, 
much valuable area was wasted in avenues, 
paths, borders and spaces between lots. 
Lots for the most part were graded level 
re.gardless of the topography of the land. 
In all cases the lots were bounded by 
granite posts, the upper ends of which pro- 
truding above the ground eight or more 
inches were hammer dressed eight inches 
square. All posts were quarried four feet 
long and approximately ten inches square. 
On very many lots, in fact nearly all, there 
were set, in addition to the four corner 
posts, two others on the center of the front 
lot line, presumably to indicate an entrance 
to the lot. Then there were many others 
surrounded by cast iron fences. These 
required ten or more granite posts to sup- 
port the fence which was bolted to these 
granite posts. In many cases, particularly 
on ground that was level, or approximately 
so, ditches or depressions around the lot in 
the space between it and other lots were 
dug, I suppose to add individuality or to 
create an atmosphere of exclusiveness. 
Most of these fences had through neglect 
become badly rusted, dilapidated and partly 
fallen down. 
We are going through the cemetery' sec- 
tion by section, tearing out all unsound 
fences, pulling all but the four corner bound 
posts, and these taken out, about two feet 
of the bottom end broken off with a ham- 
mer and reset flush with the surface grade 
of the lot. The entire area is then dug over 
to the full loam depth removing tree roots 
and rubbish, regraded, fertilized, edges sod- 
ded, and the rest seeded with a good lawn 
mixture, varied to meet the requirements of 
situation as to soil, moisture and shade. 
PARK AND C EM ET ER Y 
These lots you will understand are for the 
most part under no form of care, nor do 
we know the whereabouts of the present 
owners in many cases, until when we re- 
ceive an order for the burial of some mem- 
ber of the family who has died in a distant 
and newer part of the country. In such 
case it is amusing as well as gratifying to 
hear those who accompany the remains for 
burial say, “How nice the old lot does look. 
I have not seen it since I was a child.” 
They are wholly unconscious of its past 
condition. Now, and here, is the psycho- 
logical moment to begin conversation which 
usually ends with their endowment of the 
lot for perpetual care. I can think of no 
work more satisfying than this renovation 
of neglected sections. Only one feature re- 
mains to mar our complete happiness in the 
result, the old marble monuments, tablets 
and grave markers. We have not yet 
reached that state of progress which allows 
us to cart them to the rubbish heap. But 
even in this I have been able to make en- 
couraging progress in the matter of induc- 
ing the family to replace them with a mod- 
ern granite monument. 
From the granite posts thus removed we 
have built a storage building twenty-two by 
sixty-eight feet, a steam roller house, con- 
siderable retaining wall, foundations, etc., 
and still have about one thousand unused. 
In this work we have succeeded in getting 
rid of more than fifty iron lot fences, some 
with the owners' permission, but mostly 
without consulting them, and not one of 
them has made complaint. We still have 
many left with which the lot owners seem 
unwilling to part ; but many of them are 
thinking it over, and I am looking forward 
with pleasureable anticipation to the hour 
of great joy which shall find me abolishing 
the last iron fence within our cemeteries. 
A comparison of “before” and “after" 
treatment is rather interesting, and to me 
gratifying. Of course, in our newer sec- 
tions, none of these features are tolerated. 
No lots are now sold, nor have there been 
for many years except with perpetual care 
provision. 
As a rule I do not advocate the subdivi- 
sion of lots less than twenty feet deep from 
front to back, but we have a strong demand 
for four-grave lots at a low price. I have 
therefore prepared to meet this demand 
with a section of such lots six by seventeen 
feet. Our geological formation is such that 
we have to trench or turn over all our land 
to the full depth of graves, removing all 
stones, and bring it to proper grade by 
filling with earth and loam hauled from 
elsewhere. The cost of preparing this sec- 
tion was about thirty-three hundred dollars. 
This was finished three years ago, and we 
have already sold about one-third of it for 
about fifteen thousand dollars. 
Another bit of work which has given me 
much pleasure in the doing is an area at 
Evergreen Cemetery in our Brighton dis- 
trict. This consisted of an area of low 
ground partially filled years ago, but lack- 
ing drainage as well as being too low for 
265 
use. Thus it had remained undeveloped 
owing to excessive cost of filling which 
must be purchased elsewhere. The esti- 
mated cost was forty thousand dollars 
which remained unappropriated. Provi- 
dentially a sixty-inch water main was being 
laid for a distance of about two miles 
through the adjacent street. A clause in the 
contract gave the city the surplus material 
if demanded. It consisted of both rock and 
gravel. The avenue twenty feet wide was 
excavated to a depth of approximately eight 
feet as were also lateral and longitudinal 
paths five feet in width, the earth material 
cast out for filling and replaced with the 
rock, many pieces weighing several tons each 
being used, the gravel, of course, being 
hauled on to the lot areas. This furnished 
ample drainage, which was connected by 
pipe outletting into a public surface drain- 
age sewer. The cost of moving and placing 
this material, the e.xcavation, grading and 
finishing complete was thirteen thousand 
dollars provided by a special appropriation. 
The result is the preparation for sale of 
land which at our present schedule of prices 
will sell for two hundred and forty thou- 
sand dollars. We have already received for 
lot sales in this section over sixteen thou- 
sand dollars. 
Our latest acquisition is Fairview Ceme- 
tery of about sixty acres, coming to us 
through the annexation of Hyde Park to 
Boston in 1912. The lot sales and inter- 
ments here have more than doubled since 
our taking possession. This is the most 
modern of any cemetery in the department. 
Here we have no “old part” to deal with, 
but instead we have met the most extrava- 
gantly liberal layout I have ever come in 
contact with. Avenues thirty-five feet wide 
in most cases, paths ten or more feet with 
borders and spaces between lots, and other 
areas wasted beyond reason. Fortunately 
only a small portion had been sold. We 
were therefore able to correct many of the 
errors. We have lately completed a sub- 
stantial combination chapel and adminis- 
tration building, but have not yet planted 
anything around it. I shall use conifers 
largely in this situation. 
We are getting most satisfactory results- 
in our avenue work. They are for tlie most 
part made of good gravel construction, 
properly graded and drained ; with some 
waterbound macadam. As might be ex- 
pected the gravel surfaces are somewhat 
muddy and show wheel marks in wet 
weather and become dusty in dry times. 
We purchased a six-ton tandem steam 
roller, which has proven one of the best in- 
vestments we have ever made. It is at 
work almost continually from early spring 
till late fall, especially in rainy weather. It 
keeps all ruts and scars smoothed out splen- 
didly, and is heavy enough for the construc- 
tion of new work. As fast as rock is taken 
out of the ground and our means will per- 
mit it is hauled to and put through our 
crusher, screened into three sizes, two of the 
stone, and the dust carrying with it the pea 
size used for surface dressing. We give a 
