PARK AND CEMETERY. 
76a 
VIEW IN GERMAN EXPOSITION OF CEMETERY ART AT STETTIN. 
Showing Monuments Designed on the Same Scale, and Uniform 
Style of Planting for Adjacent Lots. 
onstration of what is needed today. 
Here the management of the exposition 
tried not only to give the monuments 
an attractive background, but also to lay 
out a model cemetery. 
It is the idea of the designer that if 
the monument is worthless, then the 
whole effect is ruined, even though the 
floral arrangement be ever so excellent. 
Here all the monuments show excellent 
forms and lines; are built of first-class, 
select material and are the work of real 
artists. There is none which shocks by 
its lack of proportion; none which is 
conspicuous by the crude handling of 
the material. The lines of such a mon- 
ument blend into a harmonious whole. 
And the floral arrangement serves onl\’ 
to increase its effectiveness. The cus- 
tom of building mounds on graves has 
now been entirely abandoned. In front 
of the monuments we now see either 
small flower beds surrounded by patch- 
es of greensward or rows of flowers. 
All the flower-beds are uniformly plant- 
ed; in one niche is the beautiful petunia, 
“gloriosa,” further over are dark blue 
heliotropes ; there are again heliotropes, 
here are begonias “Semperflorens gra- 
cilis” — but everywhere just one kind of 
flower. This arrangement produces 
with the monuments an impression of 
peacefulness and distinction which is 
in striking contrast with what we are 
accustomed to see on our cemeteries. 
One of the illustrations shows a row 
of graves which are similar to what are 
known as garden-lots in the central 
cemetery. Here an excellent effect is 
produced by having the monuments all 
of a uniform height and by allowing 
only one kind of plant on each lot, and 
that in a limited quantity only. These 
are designed to demonstrate that the 
only way to improve our cemeteries is 
by the establishment and enforcement 
of rules regulating the material and 
height of the monuments and the kind 
and color of the plants and flowers in 
each section of the cemetery. The bene- 
ficial influence of such uniformity is 
well illustrated in this row of graves. 
How quiet and restful is the appearance 
of this whole section, despite the fact 
that the monuments vary widely in form, 
material, and workmanship. With even 
the strictest enforcement of the rules 
as to uniformity in height, material, 
and general appearance of the monu- 
ments there is still variety enough for 
everyone to use his individual taste in 
the selection of a monument. The com- 
mittee empowered to decide as to the 
desirability of each monument proposed 
does not allow its verdict to be influ- 
enced by the personal tastes and views 
of the members but will simply decide 
whether, from the standpoint of art 
alone, a particular monument should 
be admitted to the cemetery or not. 
Thus, for instance, there is no doubt 
that all the monuments here exhibited 
would be admitted without question to 
the Stettin cemetery. 
Despite the fact that polished Swedish 
granite is used almost exclusively in the 
German cemeteries the German cemetery 
designers recommend other splendid 
materials which may be used in the 
construction of monuments. Excellent 
effects they say may be produced by 
the use of limestone, '“Serpentine lime- 
stone,” Rochlitz porphyry, red and green 
sandstone, magnesian, Silesian marble 
from Gnadenfrei, and others. Also 
many fine examples of granite were 
exhibited, that were neither polished 
nor “ground.” 
A fine bas-relief monument was ex- 
hibited by Architect Kusthard of Hilde- 
sheim. It is made of Rochlitz porphyry; 
the adding of a stairway, sidewalls, and 
fountain has made this a very pictur- 
esque bit of work, made still more ef- 
fective by the symmetry of the sur- 
rounding foliage. 
An entire section of the exhibition 
was devoted to providing for cremation 
— typifying the cremation cemetery of 
the future. The establishing of this sec- 
tion was made possible by the aid of the 
Cremation Society of Stettin. In the 
center of this part of the exhibit was 
a collossal temple devoted to family 
urns, and in front of it a collossal statue 
of a praying youth, the work of the 
sculptor Lehmann-Borges of Charlotten- 
burg. The atmosphere was truly im- 
pressive in its significance here. In the 
shade of old German trees ; on plots 
of grass : amidst bushy shrubbery ; 
dainty ferns, and immense junipers 
were placed urns of beautiful form and 
splendid material. 
Should the idea of cremation gain 
enough adherents to compel the estab- 
lishment of ‘‘urn cemeteries,” the com- 
bination of “urn groves” and “urn gar- 
dens” together with temples devoted 
to family urns would furnish wonderful 
possibilities for the artistic arrangement 
of the places devoted to the preserva- 
tion of ashes. From the standpoint of 
the German monumental architect the 
idea of cremation offers many artistic 
possibilities. 
Many friends of the idea of artistic 
and novel cemetery arrangement made 
long trips to visit the exposition and 
found inspiration for new ideas and new 
enthusiasm. Above all it was an ob- 
ject lesson to the public at large in show- 
ing how the resting places of the dead 
can be made beautiful indeed if only in- 
dividuals sacrifice their own ideas for 
the sake of artistic harmonious effects. 
The pictures shown herewith of this 
remarkable exposition are worthy of 
careful study, as demonstrating typical 
examples of the work of education that 
might be accomplished by such an ex- 
hibit. The “urn grove” and the “urn 
garden” are particularly original and 
suggestive ideas that have been devel- 
oped here and in the great cemetry at 
Hamburg dscribed in our last issue. 
The most important lesson to be 
learned by both cemetery and monu- 
ment industries in America from this 
exposition is the value of educating both 
the professional interests and the public 
in the practice of a better cemetery act. 
Such exhibitions might well be pro- 
moted in this country by art societies, 
or organizations of monument dealers, 
sculptors or cemetery officials, and 
would result in far reaching benefit to 
every art or industry that has to do 
with the development or adornment of 
the cemetery. 
