86 
PARK AND CEA\DTERY. 
BRING PHOTOGRAPHS. 
A photograph is often more instructive than a 
long written article. It seems to me that nothing 
would do more to make the meeting of the As- 
sociation of Cemetery Superintendents at Rich- 
mond interesting than to have on exhibition good 
photographs of the various cemeteries. These 
should be selected to illustrate special features, 
such as, pleasing vistas, water margins, driveways, 
backgrounds for monuments, areas containing too 
much stone-work, views showing the effect of 
hedges, coping, fences, hitching posts, projecting 
lot stakes, cemetery boundaries, natural grades, a 
tree or shrub when in bloom, satisfactory use of 
flowers, effects of planting at different seasons (as 
views in winter, early spring, summer, etc)., ceme- 
tery entrances, the operation of planting trees and 
shrubs, the construction of roads etc., etc. Bring 
anything in this line that would be instructive 
either from its good qualities or its defects. It is 
not neccessary that it should be taken in the ceme- 
tery you represent or, indeed, in any cemetery at 
all, if it has a lesson to teach. Well selected 
photographs will help all who attend the meeting 
and they will help most the ones who make the 
selections. O. C. Simonds. 
Notes. 
The desirability of employing an architect or an 
artist to make the design of a monument is not 
generally appreciated and the natural consequence 
is that nine out of ten monuments in cemeteries are 
ugly in the extreme and exhibit a collection of lines 
and surfaces without any meaning. The assump- 
tion on the part of a man, whose only knowledge is 
that required in cutting stone, to be able to make 
designs for monuments is on a part with that of the 
carpenter who assumes the duties of an architect 
without previous study and training. Both men 
produce pitiable results, yet a majority of our de- 
signs for monuments come from such sources. 
O. C. Simonds. 
The removal of lot enclosures in many cases, 
and a growing tendency to dispense with anything 
except the most simple and inconspicuous form of 
boundary post for lots, is working a great change 
for the better in cemeteries; but as the number of 
burials in each lot increase, the monuments and 
headstones increasing in proportion, must inevit- 
ably become unduly prominent, and if they do not 
eventually conceal or destroy, will certainly most 
seriously impair the lifetime labors of the most 
successful landscape gardener, unless measures are 
taken in good season toward obviating, as far as 
possible, a result so undesirable. 
J. W. Loveritig. 
Pointers for Cemetery Officials. 
Encourage the discriminate planting of hardy 
flowering shrubs. 
Discourage Sunday funerals. 
Many styles of monuments look best when 
partially covered with ivy or some hardy vine. 
Workmen whose duty it is to lower coffins into 
graves should be respectably clad. In many ceme- 
teries uniforms are provided. 
Study natural effects in shrubbery and adapt 
them to your grounds. 
Every cemetery should have a Perpetual Care 
fund. 
Parks and cemeteries should be divorced from 
politics. 
Foundations for monuments should be as deep 
as adjacent graves. 
Families should be advised to purchase adjoin- 
ing lots and have one central monument. 
In a cemetery properly inclosed, fences around 
lots should be prohibited. 
Lot coping increases the cost of caring for a lot 
and detracts from its appearance. 
Grass paths between lots are less expensive to 
maintain than dirt or gravel walks and enchance 
the beauty of a section. 
High grave mounds are unsightly. Some ceme- 
teries prohibit them more than three inches in 
height. 
Employ a competent landscape architect to lay 
out additions, or new grounds, and conduct them 
on the lawn plan. 
Permit only one monument to a lot and recom- 
mend low headstones. 
Fill up and sod over some of the paths that di- 
vide lots. A path round every lot is unsightly 
and unnecessary. 
Adopt a uniform grade for every section and 
maintain it. 
Head markers set in sockets should be prohibited. 
Berry bearing shrubs, properly distributed and 
arranged, afford pretty winter effects. 
July and August are hard months on lawns. 
Water and water and water! ! 
Poorly ventilated receiving vaults are a reflect- 
ion on a cemetery. If defect is irremediable, be 
lavish with disinfectants during the summer. 
Construct your roads on best principles which 
will reduce cost of maintenance. They are perman- 
ent features, subject to the hardest usage, and hence 
should be durable. 
Gasoline sprinkling is an effective remedy for 
weeds in the gutters. 
