PARK AND CEMETERY 
91 
The mayor of Woburn, Mass., has recommended to the 
council that the old historic cemeteries in that town, which 
have long- Ijeen neglected, be placed under the control of the 
cemetery commissioners. 
* * * 
'J'he Park and Cemetery Association of Saginaw, Mich., are 
sending out letters to lot owners to the three city cemeteries 
urging them to deposit funds for the perpetual care of lots. 
At present Forest Lawn is the only one of the three that has 
an endowment fund. The other two are Brady Hill, with 
10,000 interments, and Oakwood with 6,cco. 
* * * 
A suit has been brought against the Missouri Cemetery 
Improvement Association to prevent the establishment of 
Mount Auburn Cemetery near St. Joseph, Mo. The action 
has been brought by property owners who claim that the asso- 
ciation is violating a city ordinance forbidding the establish- 
ment of a cemetery within one mile of the city limits. One 
interment has already been made and the suit is regarded as 
a test case to determine the validity of the ordinance. C. J. 
Borden, formerly mayor of St. Joseph, is president of the 
association. * * 
John G. Barker, superintendent of Rivervie-w Cemetery, 
South Bend, Ind., writes to tell of some encouraging im- 
provements being made in country cemeteries near his locality. 
The city cemetery at Mishawaka, Ind., is to be re-surveyed, 
re-plotted and all the lots properly numbered. Improvements 
in the water supply and in the care of the trees are also 
planned. At Sumption Prairie a fund of $2,500.00 has been 
raised for improvements which are to include removing use- 
less foot-stones, leveling all low places, and making a lawn 
as far as possible. 
^ 
Bellctt Lawson, Jr., superintendent of The Buffalo 
Burial Park Association, Buffalo, N. Y., has opened an office 
at 44 W. Eagle street, in that city, for the practice of land- 
scape architecture. Mr. Lawson will make a specialty of 
cemetery work and is at present engaged on plans for the 
improvement of Grand View Cemetery, Batavia, N. Y. The 
tract to be improved includes about fifty-four acres which is 
to be laid out on modern principles. Contracts have already 
been awarded for the erection of an elaborate entrance gate 
and receiving vault, to cost about $5,000.00. The gateway will 
be about twenty-two feet wide, including a driveway and 
footpaths separated by granite pillars. The iron work will be 
furnished by the Enterprise Foundry & Fence Co., of Indi- 
anapolis, and the granite work by the Worden Monument 
Co., of Batavia. 
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An item which appeared in this department in our April 
issue erroneously stated that a new state law had been passed 
in New York requiring the digging of graves to the depth of 
nine feet, three feet deeper than formerly. This item should 
bave referred to the state of Pennsylvania, and the Commis- 
sioner of Public Health of Pennsylvania writes as follows 
concerning the provision: 
“'Owing to the unfortunate fact that cemetery sites have 
been selected without regard to the geological formation, 
many of which are not suited for the purpose of properly 
protecting the health of the people in their respective locali- 
ties, the Department of Health has decided it to be necessary 
in order to meet the existing conditions, to adopt the follow- 
ing regulation concerning the depth of graves : 
Rule I. Except by special permission from the Department 
of Health, no interment of any human body shall be made in 
nuy public or private burial ground unless the distance from 
the top of the box containing the coffin or casket be at least 
■five feet from the natural surface of the ground, except where 
solid rock or water may be encountered ; then the distance 
from the top of the box containing the coffin or casket shall 
be not less than four feet from the natural surface of the 
ground; and with the further exception that still born chil- 
dren and children less than four years of age, dead of any 
disease other than anthrax, cholera, diphtheria, leprosy, small- 
pox, scarlet fever, tetanus, typhoid fever, typhus fever or yel- 
low fever, shall be buried at such a depth that the top of the 
box containing the soffin or casket be not less than three and 
one-half feet from the natural surface of the ground.” 
Samuel G. Dixon, M. D., Commissioner. 
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FROM THE ANNUAL REPORTS. 
At the annuai meeting of the Washington Cemetery Com- 
pany, Washington, Pa., it was voted to increase the charge for 
perpetual care to twenty cents per square foot instead of ten 
cents as heretofore. Lot sales for the year amounted to 
$6,000, and the expenditure for maintenance was $6,700. There 
were three hundred and seven interments during the year, 
making a total of 6,856. The board decided to employ W. R. 
Smith, superintendent of the Botanic Garden at Washington, 
D. C., to prepare plans for the ornamentation of the grounds. 
The annual statement of Forest Home Cemetery, Milwau- 
kee, Wis., reports 50 cremations for the year. This has been 
the average number per year since the crematory was estab- 
lished in 1896. The association has added ten acres of terri- 
tory which, IS soon to be plotted, making the total area 159 
acres. The perpetual care fund was increased by $10,000 
during the year, and now amounts to $70,000. There were. 
752 interments during the year. 
The annual report of the trustees of cemeteries, Malden, 
Mass., for the year 1905, shows a total perpetual care fund for 
Forest Dale and Salem Street cemeteries of $64,939, the in- 
come from which amounts to $2,473. The receipts for the 
year were $8,733, and the expenditures $8,854. The report 
recommends that $1,000 additional be added to this year’s 
appropriation for the purpose of fighting the insect pests. 
William Stone, superintendent of Pine Grove Cemetery, 
Lynn, Mass., writes as follows concerning the work of ex- 
terminating the gypsy and brown tail moths : ‘‘1 have had 
fifteen men at work all winter. About half of the nests could 
be easily torn open and no worms found in them. The 
gypsies were harder to find, as their egg clusters were in 
every conceivable place out of sight. The brown tails nest 
on the ends of the branches and could be easily found. The 
gypsies are most to be dreaded, as they eat the conifers while 
the brown tails do not. To defoliate a conifer once means 
death. Our legislature had them pretty well under control 
three years ago, but the members in the western part of the 
state not having them in their section caused the Gypsy Moth 
Commission to be abolished because it was so expensive. 
They did an unwise thing. Our street trees in this section 
are completely dotted with black spots caused by creosote 
which has been put on the egg clusters of the Gypsy. These 
clusters contain two to four or five hundred eggs and are 
covered with yellowish woolly substance. These eggs are 
very hard and sound like corn popping when put in the fire. 
The creosote takes the life out of them. Hundreds of coni- 
fers have been killed by them in this section. 
At the meeting of the trustees of Walkill Cemetery, re- 
cently held at Philipsburg, N. Y., plans were made for the 
improvement of an addition of 50 acres recently purchased. 
The tract will be fenced and a new entrance gate erected at 
once. President Theodore Smith and William Strong, of the 
Broad of Trustees, were appointed a committee to have 
charge of the work. The present cemetery comprises about 
ten acres. 
