238 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
PRACTICAL POINTS ON CEMETERY MANAGEMENT 
From the Proceedings of the First Annual Convention 
of the Association of Cemetery Officials of Canada. 
Flowers in the Cemetery. 
I have found flowers of great benefit to 
the cemetery of which 1 have charge. In 
the first place, why do we grow flowers? 
Is it not for the love of the beautiful, 
which creates a strong current of affection 
for your fellowman? There is nothing 
more welcome to the sick-chamber than a 
bunch of flowers, neither is there anything 
that brings to the front the finer qualities 
of man, than placing regularly a few cut 
flowers on the grave of a departed loved 
one, whether they be the finest rose, lily, 
or only the simple ox-eyed daisy. 
In my cemetery I have planted some five 
hundred beds and borders, and about seven 
hundred and fifty vases. These are in- 
creasing every year, and with the increase 
is greater desire on the part of the lot 
owners to have some special care taken 
of their lots. We grow very largely our 
own flowers for cemetery use, and find 
it a great benefit in encouraging lot 
owners to decorate their graves. Previous 
to our undertaking to do this work, people 
would inquire as to where they could pro- 
cure flowers, and the cost of the same, and 
on being told of the florist, went away in- 
tending to have them sent to the cemetery, 
and have either forgotten or changed their 
minds, before ordering. Now, instead of 
forgetting or changing their minds, they or- 
der from us, and often wait and see them 
placed on their lots. This may seem hard 
on the florists, but, as I have already 
pointed out, in nine cases out of ten they 
would not get the business anyway. Two 
of the florists in our city have turned over 
all their cemetery business to the cemetery, 
as they find it more profitable to grow for 
city trade only, as the cemetery business 
took up too much time during the busy 
season. 
And now to come to the financial end of 
it. We do not make a large profit out of 
growing flowers, as we try to sell to the 
lot owners as near to cost as possible ; but 
we are able to keep our staff of experi- 
enced men through the winter, who are ac- 
quainted with cemetery work, which you 
will all understand is a great benefit to a 
small cemetery, where only one general 
foreman is kept and no section foreman. 
Now, as to planting of beds and placing 
of vases, we have not yet placed a limit 
on the amount to be placed or planted, 
and although we find some lot owners in- 
clined to overdo the decoration, yet a little 
persuasion and advice usually prevails. In 
some sections the planting is quite thick, 
yet the general effect is pleasing, and 
strangers passing through often remark on 
the wealth of flowers displayed. 
Some years ago it was the custom to 
have nothing but white or delicate shades 
of flowers, but now it is the opposite; the 
more brilliant display you can make, the 
more it seems to please. — Frank Wise, 
Peterboro, Ont. 
Mr. Rutherford — We do not in our cem- 
etery encourage very much planting of 
flowers ; my contention is that flowering 
shrubs flowering from early spring to fall 
give a better appearance to a cemetery 
than flowering plants. We buy our stock 
cheaply every year from the florist, be- 
cause he takes them up again in the fall, 
and we are not able to plant any flowers 
with good results before the first of June 
on account of the cool nights, so that the 
season of flowering plants is very short. 
In our grounds we restrict planting flowers 
to a border around the base of monu- 
ments. 
F. D. Clark — T have listened with much 
pleasure to Mr. Wise’s paper. I, myself, 
prefer the landscape effect in cemeteries ; 
I would cut out the planting of flowers on 
graves, but they are all right around the 
foot of the monument. 
Mr. Foord — In my experience as a lot 
owner I would prefer to have an urn in 
which to place flowers, or something in 
that way. 
Mr. Wise — I find that planting of flow- 
ers encourages the lot owners to spend 
money on their lots, and to keep them in 
good condition. It is also a source of rev- 
enue to the cemetery. 
Rev. W. L. Baynes-Reed — I would not 
favor doing away entirely with the plant- 
ing of flowers since it is a means of in- 
ducing the friends of the departed to visit 
the graves of their loved ones, and so en 
courage and maintain feelings of kindness 
and tenderness. If there were no placing 
of flowers upon graves people would pay 
fewer visits to the cemeteries. 
Mr. Rutherford — For another reason I 
would advocate the planting of shrubs, as 
they hide, to some extent, the overcrowded 
monuments in a cemetery. 
Cemetery Road Building. 
The suction caused by the tire of the 
motor car has caused us to improve the 
ordinary macadam road by adding a bin- 
der of sufficient cohesive power to with- 
stand the destruction. Several are of a 
bituminous product, also Rocmac and 
binders of its character. 
Cost of materials vary in different lo- 
calities, therefore we must adapt wants to 
local conditions to give the best results. 
While some advocate roads varying from 
30 to 40 feet wide for cemeteries, a good 
constructed road 24 feet will allow any 
vehicle to turn and 20 feet will serve for 
any road except entrance and main road. 
In laying out roads on main avenues 
preserve a boulevard of not less than six 
feet ; this prohibits monuments from mar- 
ring the landscape view of a well laid out 
avenue which provides space for drains, 
water service and telephone conduits. On 
lateral avenues three to four feet of re- 
serve will be sufficient. 
On fixing grades of roads, do not trust 
to the eye, as the road which is to please 
when finished is the one where grades are 
carried out on practical engineering lines. 
The thickness of metal to withstand a 
given pressure varies according to the for- 
mation of the undersoil; a loose forma- 
tion, such as sand, requires more metal 
than a shaly clay bottom. In road build- 
ing we all agree that the essential point is 
a waterproof road ; without this the road 
is soon cut in ruts and wears in depres- 
sions. 
This short paper will cover macadam 
roads only. The best I have found suited 
for cemeteries is Tarvia macadam, which 
is dustproof and absolutely waterproof. 
It is essential before applying metal to 
have the roadbed thoroughly rolled as even 
as possible, crowning the center one-half 
of the crown of the finished road. 
The first bed of metal should be from 
2 to 2 inch stone ; largest in bottom for 
bed 6 inches deep in center and 3 inches 
at sides when rolled. Before coating with 
Tarvia fill up voids with small stone to 
prevent Tarvia penetrating too far into the 
metal, to 1 gallon a yard first coat. 
The second layer of lJ-Tinch stone 2 
inches deep when rolled well and graded 
up to an even surface ; fill up voids with 
smaller material, apply to 24 gallon to 
square yard, then dress with A to 34 trap 
rock and roll until you cannot sweep any 
more stone up and your road is finished. 
Care should be taken in spreading metal 
to turn every shovelful, when dumped 
upon road. I have seen stretches on the 
same road made by different men at the 
same time, with the same metal ; on one 
portion holes wore in a few months be- 
cause the stone was dumped on the road 
and simply raked down until the surface 
was even, making it impossible for any 
roller to crush the road even and fill up 
the void. 
Where granite or trap is hard to pro- 
cure, limestone may be used for first or 
lower course, but never for second and 
top courses; trap rock should be used for 
dressing in all cases. The trouble with 
limestone is Tarvia will not assimilate with 
the limestone dust which the pressure of 
heavy loads produce. — W. H. Foord, To- 
ronto. 
Mr. Clark — What are your reasons for a 
six-foot boulevard? 
