PARK AND C EM ET ERY. 
27 
can, and making all you can by the 
addition of all refuse vegetable mat- 
ter you can save. Take the best of 
care of it by keeping it under cover 
if possible, and prevent heating as 
much as possible; also add something 
that will absorb the ammonia that 
may be liberated by decomposition, 
such as land-plaster, acid phosphate, 
or if you cannot do any better, add 
loam to the pile. It is important to 
save as much of the urine as you can. 
If the pile is tramped hard it is not as 
liable to heat and so liberate the am- 
monia. Decomposition renders the 
elements more soluble or more 
quickly available by the plant, but 
be careful not to lose your nitrogen, 
which is the most expensive element 
to buy. 
Most superintendents are obliged to 
depend very largely on commercial 
fertilizers, so they are of great inter- 
est to us. 
Wood ashes vary greatly, accord- 
ing to the kind of wood from which 
they come, the amount of moisture 
they contain, and the care that has 
been taken to prevent leaching. Com- 
mercial ashes usually weigh about 48 
lbs. per bushel, and contain about 4 
lbs. of potash and 2 lbs. of phosphoric 
acid, no nitrogen. Potash in ashes is 
usually in the form of carbonate, and 
is valued by the experiment stations 
of New England at 8c per pound. 
kluriate of potash contains about 50 
per cent actual potash and is valued 
by the experiment stations of New 
England at 4^20 per pound. 
Sulphate of potash contains from 43 
per cent to 52 per cent actual potash, 
and is valued by the stations at 5c per 
pound. There are two or more grades 
on the market. 
South Carolina or Florida rock is 
found in North and South Carolina, 
Georgia and Florida. It is supposed 
to be the petrified dung of sea birds, 
and usually contains from 25 per cent 
to 28 per cent of phosphoric acid. It 
is ground and put on the market 
under the name of floats. It is quite 
insoluble. The value of insoluble 
phosphoric acid is estimated at 2c per 
pound. 
Basic Slag contains from 14 per 
cent to 20 per cent of phosphoric acid. 
Most of the phosphoric acid is re- 
verted, or in other words, it will be 
dissolved by the weak acids of the soil 
slowly. The experiment stations es- 
timate that phosphoric acid in such 
forms should be worth 4j4c per 
pound. 
Super-phosphates or acid phos- 
phates are manufactured by treating 
the insoluble phosphates with vitriol, 
which takes up some of the lime and 
makes them more soluble, but not 
wholly so. The price for water solu- 
ble phosphates is 5c per pound. 
Dissolved bone black is derived 
Draining Off Surface Water 
In reply to the question of J. R., 
What provision is usually made on 
sections to take care of the snow wa- 
ter resulting from a sudden thaw? I 
will say from my experience that such 
provisions are generally useless, for 
the frost is generally in the ground 
during a sudden thaw in the northern 
latitudes. But when it is not, a small 
tile buried to a depth of one or two 
feet in the path or along lot lines, 
with sewerage connection in your 
driveways, will draw the surface water 
ofif in a few hours. 
I would advise this only on low, 
flat, graded or large sections, because 
it lowers the water table, and I do 
not think plant life thrives so well 
during the drier months. High, well 
graded sections, without flats in them, 
and with the assistance of the graves 
in them, generally draw off the sur- 
face water very fast. 
I am speaking of the surface water 
only, for the question of dry graves 
during a wet period depends upon the 
nature of the ground and the depth 
to the natural drainage, namely, the 
sand or rock. Ralph C. Thomas, 
Supt. Elm Grove Cemetery, Bluffton, 
Ind. 
P. S. — Will some one please tell me 
their experience in combating weeds 
and grass in driveways that are made 
of stone and gravel, and were neglect- 
ed for a couple of years. They are 
very foul with seed. I have about 
2,000 feet of such driveway and would 
like to clear them with some kind of 
chemical mixture. R. C. T. 
Flowers in Receiving Vault 
In looking over Park and Ceme- 
tery I note the questions asked by 
the members of the Association of 
American Cemetery Superintendents, 
and find two questions that I would 
like to reply to. , Do any cemeteries 
prohibit placing flowers in receiving 
vault? I saw one that did, and their 
reason was that one spring water was 
found to accumulate as they thought 
from the flowers. I am of a very dif- 
from the refining of sugar. It con- 
tains about 16 per cent phosphoric 
acid, of which quite a large percentage 
is soluble. 
F. G. Bartlett. 
(To be concluded) 
ferent opinion. I have had twenty 
years of experience and never in or 
during this time have I discovered any 
reasons why we should exclude the 
flowers — that is, where a vault is so 
arranged that there is room for them. 
In my experience, which has been 
full of observance in this direction, I 
consider it wrong to prohibit the 
placing of flowers in the receiving 
vault. I would add that we as a rule 
remove flowers from the casket and 
place on top of rough box or as near 
as possible to it. . 
The second question. What provi- 
sion is usually made on a cemetery 
or section to take care of snow water 
resulting from a sudden thaw? This 
accumulation of water must go into 
the earth. If a drain could be ar- 
ranged any superintendent would 
quickly see his way clear. If not, my 
own experience has taught me in 
some certain places to dig a hole suf- 
ficiently' deep to be always below 
frost, then use as large tile as might 
be desired. I used 15-inch, placed up- 
right, allowing top to be flush with 
ground, then fill tile with small stone. 
In slushy soil this will always take 
care of snow water that accumulates 
in any depression in a section. 
Fort Plain, N. Y. W. C. Rapp. 
E. E. H., Pa. Do city officials have 
the power to open a street through a 
cemetery that is owned by a private 
corporation ? 
[This frequently depends on local 
conditions. A brief record of court 
decisions would be of interest. — Ed.] 
M. G., 111. What is the practice 
covering care of lots where only half 
the lot owners pay for care and all 
new lots are sold under perpetual 
care? 
T. M., R. I. What form of ceme- 
tery government is most beneficial to 
the community, a stock company or a 
mutual corporation of the lot hold- 
ers ? 
J. J. S., O. What is the probable 
cost of the best and most modern re- 
tort in a crematorium and where lo- 
cated? 
? I WANT TO KNOW ? 
