PARK AND CEMETERY, 
with the celebration of the Lexington Caledonian so- 
ciety in honor of Queen Victoria’s diamond Jubilee. 
The Scottish national emblem seems to be well 
chosen, for in it may be traced a family resemblance 
to some of the national characteristics. 
There is, for instance, the brave bearing, rigid 
uprightness, wonderful vigor and independence, 
picturesqueness, a certain scratchy exterior that re- 
sents unwarranted or inconsiderate intrusion and 
withal, the proverbial kindness of heart is not in- 
aptly represented by the tender downy undersur- 
face of its leaves. Fanny Copley Seavey. 
CEMETERY TOPICS. 
Perpetual Care. 
As important as any matter connected with 
cemetery development and management is that 
provision, nowadays very prominent in the con- 
sideration of cemetery officials, which looks to 
the future care and permanent establishment 
of the cemetery. This provision is termed “Per- 
petual Care,” and is intended, as the name im- 
plies, to secure for all time the permanent exist- 
ence of the cemetery, under the best possible con- 
ditions of preservation as to physical appearance 
and legal stability. The principal agency in the 
consummation of such an important object, is, of 
course, a fund of sufficient magnitude to afford an 
income large enough to meet all the requirements 
that our present knowledge deems desirable ; for 
the legal means to command at this time are ample 
to cover all future contingencies affecting perma- 
nency. To attain the goal of an adequate fund is 
the work of to-day, and in regard to the older cem- 
eteries, in which the question has only recently 
been raised and in which the major part of the 
properties are owned and operated under old rules 
and regulations, the race is a hard one. This does 
not lie so much in the direction of influencing indi- 
vidual lot owners, for a little serious missionary work 
among them is apt to be convincing, but the dif- 
ficult feature of the undertaking is to reach such lot 
owners as are non-resident, or who have inherited 
the lots, or who have lost immediate interest, with 
sufficient force as to induce the guarantee of a sub- 
scription or bequest to meet the conditions imposed. 
Human affection or sympathy decreases in a 
very rapid ratio as relationship widens, and respect 
which may act as a substitute in human nature is 
not so keenly prone to make sacrifices for such a 
purpose as the preservation of a cemetery lot. But, 
nevertheless, the natural desire to keep the family 
grave and its surroundings comely and restiul is a 
powerful motive on generations immediately affected, 
whether resident or non-resident, and it is upon this 
sentiment that active work must be brought to bear, 
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as the mainspring of securing the fund, so far as 
reliance on available lot owners is trustworthy. 
The next thought as to how most effectively to 
impress the question is met by the conclusion that the 
cemetery officials arejn'Ja "position to know most 
concerning the individuality of their lot owners, 
and from that standpeintymust act. Unremitting 
educational effort must be the watchword, and 
every new argument forthcoming must be vigorous- 
ly presented. As a general proposition there 
should be no better promoter of the perpetual care 
idea than the clergyman, and it is a matter of con- 
stant and growfing surprise that the clergy have 
not been more active in cemetery work. It is 
simply astonishing that the clergy as a whole have 
not made effective protest against the degrading 
condition of the average rural cemetery. It is not 
too late to invoke the aid of the minister, and his 
aid should be the most effective of all, all things 
considered. 
The arguments in favor of the perpetual care 
of the cemetery are so conclusive, because so in 
harmony with the sentiment controlling the high- 
er aspiratious of humanity that to deny them is 
to degrade that humanity and to place oneself on a 
lower plane in the scale of human progress. To 
teel assured that the graves of departed kindred, 
tied to us by varying degrees of affection, shall be 
maintained in a high degree of care, without im- 
posing upon us any active attention, and that we 
ourselves shall finally rest under like conditions, 
imparts a sense of comfort unattainable in any 
other direction ; and to know, further, that this 
care will be unremittingly administered for all that 
have gone and for all actually interested to the 
limit of the capacity of the lot and for all time, af- 
fords a satisfaction and relief for those “doubts 
and fears” which with the unsatisfied longings of 
the human heart, make life oftentimes but a weary 
waiting. The subject, however, has a far wider 
significance than the mere fact of keeping the cem- 
etery in order for all time for its own lot-owners, 
which when realized, as it surely will be as the 
beauties of the question develop in the mind, will 
render the perfecting of the scheme more easily at- 
tainable as time progresses. It is gratifying to 
note the progress being made all over the country 
and .as the whole question becomes appreciated and 
understood a very rapid advance will surely result. 
* * * 
Superfluous Stone Work in Cemeteries. 
The enforcement of the law in lawn plan ceme- 
teries against the placing of curbing or lot inclos- 
ures of any kind, has done much to bring about a 
public appreciation of the beauties of properly con- 
ducted cemetery grounds. Time was when a lot 
