PARK AND 
CEMETERY 
384 
mausoleums. He said that approxi- 
mately one hundred and fifty had 
been contracted for; sixty are now in 
operation, all but four being located 
in cemeteries. He exhibited photo- 
graphs of exterior and interior views 
of a number of the mausoleums and 
described the method used for dis- 
posing of the gases, etc. Territorial 
rights are sold to cemeteries or pri- 
vate parties. 
“Some Winter Work for Cemetery 
Employes” was the timely topic dis- 
cussed by Bellett Lawson, Jr., super- 
intendent of Elmwood Cemetery, 
River Grove, 111. Mr. Lawson showed a 
simply constructed wooden mold and 
specimens of posts, and markers made 
of concrete. He said: 
SOME AVINTER AVOKK EOR CEMETERY 
EMPLOYEES. 
By BeUett Lawson, Jr. 
Nearly all cemeteries have employees that 
they are compelled to keep on their payroli 
for the winter months, and it is often a 
serious question with the superintendent what 
to do with them. Concrete is a factor that 
wilt heip out in this line, and is not half 
appreciated by cemetery superintendents in 
general. The following are just a few of 
the many things that can be built or made 
in the winter months: Corner or boundary 
posts, single grave headstones, burial cases, 
fence posts, rubbish boxes, section, signs, 
catch basins or inlets, sewer pipe, blocks for 
building purposes, entrance blocks, hitching 
posts, etc. 
Before going into details let me say that 
few cemetery superintendents understand 
what might be called the Science of Con- 
crete. Most anyone knows that concrete is 
composed of cement, sand and stone, but to 
use it in such a manner that the voids in 
one article must be made up by the solids 
of another is seldom considered. The con- 
sequence is a waste of material and a poor 
product, and perhaps a set back to the use 
of concrete. 
A little over a year ago I called on, a 
superintendent who was building the foun- 
dation for a very heavy granite structure. 
He began to tell me of how strong he was 
making the concrete. I examined the ma- 
terial, then questioned him and found that 
the concrete was made up of one part cement 
and five parts of what he called gravel, but 
it was really coarse sand. It is quite safe 
to say there was not enough cement in this 
mixture to fill the voids in the sand or 
gravel, but on account of his lack of 
knowledge he was using more cement than 
necessary and not enough stone, thereby 
weakening the concrete. Had he made a 
mixture of 1 part cement, 3 parts sand, 4 or 
even five parts stone his mixture would have 
been much stronger, and would have made 
as much if not more concrete. To analyze 
the above we must understand that the sand 
and cement is the mixture that sticks the 
stone together; that is, the cement fills the 
voids or spaces in the san.d, and these two 
fill the voids between the stone. 
Having made the above explanation, I will 
proceed to the subject of this paper and 
first take up corner posts. 
There have been many attempts at this 
work, some of which are very crude. In 
general, I believe that unle.ss the work is in 
very intelligent hands it is a mistake to 
make corner posts face up. That is to put 
the finish on. the top of the marker the last 
thing. First it is hard to get a perfect bond 
between the top finish and the body of the 
marker; third, the letters and characters 
are hard to make perfect, and last but not 
least the process is slow. In order not to be 
considered as having any personal interest. 
I will eliminate any ready-made machines 
or moulds from this subject. 
To make a face down mould, provide a 
number of pattern letters known as “reverse 
gothic.” Whether they are to be of brass 
or white metal must be determined by the 
superintendent himself; the latter are quite 
inexpensive, therefore it is well to provide 
a quantity. These can be purchased from a 
foundry supply house. If a square marker 
is desired a wooden box lined with zinc or 
even without lining can. be used. One end 
should be closed with a removable bottom 
but the side of the box should be fastened 
with hinges, one side of which should have 
loose pins. These pins can be drawn out in 
order to remove it from the finished product. 
Begin by cutting a number of disks out of 
good heavy paper to fit in the bottom of the 
mould. To these attach the figures or letters 
with ordinary shellac. To tell this, seems 
slow work, but it is not, as this part of 
the work can be done in the office, or by 
the superintendent himself. Place a disk in 
the bottom of the mould, which "will be on 
top of the finished marker. For the face of 
the marker use equal parts of sharp sand 
and cement; for the balance a mixture of 
one part cement, three of sand and four of 
small stones. The face mixture can be im- 
proved if 30% of hydrated lime is used in 
place of all cement. Viz. — Sand 50%, lime 
15%, cement 35%. This takes the brittle- 
ness ouf of the cement, and helps to make 
the tops much lighter in color. 
In making the post, first place enough of 
the face mixture to cover the bottom of the 
mould; then add a little of the cbarse mix- 
ture, and tamp it very hard, as this makes 
a perfect bond that is not obtainable any 
other way. After this keep tamping and 
filling until the mould is full; then turn, the 
mould over and remove it from the green 
marker at once, but let the paper disk with 
the letters remain on the work until the 
concrete is set when they are easily removed, 
and the lettering will be perfect. Posts so 
made cannot be distinguished by the aver- 
cement box is prohibitive. What is needed 
is a case that can. be sold at a low price, and 
in every way be permanent. This can be 
done by makin.g sectional boxes in the win- 
ter months. The sides, ends, tops and bot- 
tom can each be made in one piece with very- 
few moulds. I have been quite successful 
with all parts made only I'^/z inches thick, 
except the top, which should be two inches. 
Of course these sections will have to be re- 
inforced with some cheap metal. This will 
depend very much on what is available. In 
cities where there are wire nail "works a 
good cheap reinforcing can be had by using 
the wire such as is used in 10-penny nails. 
This can be had cut into lengths and 
straightened at a very low cost. If there is 
nothing else available chicken wire mesh 
will do, but it is harder to keep in place. 
To cast these sectional boxes provide several 
smooth and level platforms. These will be 
better if covered with zinc or galvanized 
iron. Also provide several pieces of straight 
dressed wood about 8 feet long and about 
4 inches wide and as thick as you desire to 
make your sections. These I will call the 
long pieces. Several short pieces, cut out 
of the same material, are also needed for the 
ends of the slabs. Lay the long and short 
pieces on the platform for the size of the 
slab desired, and hold them in place by what 
are known as extension clamps, of which you 
should have several pairs. Fill in about half 
the depth with wet concrete, then lay in 
the reinforcing and fill in the balance. Very 
little finishing is needed on the top of the 
slab, as the underside will be the inside of 
the overbox. 
The average overbox so constructed con- 
tains less than, one-half a cubic yard of con- 
crete and should not cost over $5.00 per box. 
Those who desire something more expensive 
of course should be accommodated, but it 
will in no wise be any better if made of 
what is known as the two-piece box. That 
is one piece for the box and one for the lid. 
This latter box will have to be sold at twice 
or three times the price of the former. 
LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FROM ACROSS THE RIVER, 
age person from real stone. Where ceme- 
teries furnish a marker with each single 
grave, the same process can. he used in mak- 
ing these headstones or markers. In mak- 
ing concrete for this class of work the face 
mixture should be damp, while the balance 
should be wet enough to stand up while 
green. It is astonishing how wet this can 
be made and yet stand up. It is the tamping 
that does it. A little experimenting in this 
line will make a person very proficient. 
I will next discuss burial cases or cement 
overboxes. Most members of this association 
will say that the sooner the body returns to 
dust the better, but. since modern usage 
compels the use of some sort of an overbox, 
why not have one that is lasting enough to 
eliminate the constant settling of graves. 
So tar the retail price of $35 to $50 for a 
It will be noticed that I used the term 
wet concrete in connection with this work. 
It is necessary for this that the concrete 
■should be fairly wet, otherwise the rein- 
forcing Avill not adhere to the concrete. 
It will not be necessary to wait until the 
concrete is thoroughly hard to remove the 
clamps and side pieces. This can be done 
as soon as the concrete has set. A good 
formula for the above work is 1 of cement, 
of sand and 3 of roofing gravel. 
Many cemeteries need more or less fence 
posts, but as there are so many good cheap 
moulds on the market for manufacturing 
these, I will not attempt in this paper to 
give any method of making forms. The 
U. S. Department of Agriculture Issues a 
bulletin known as Farmers’ Bulletin No. 403 
that gives much valuable information along 
