PARK AND CEMETERY. 
38 
ground before man’s ingenuity was brought to bear 
upon it. True, the rougher the former state of the 
land, the more remarkable the improvement. 
But the prominent fact of the great cost of con- 
struction is lost sight of. The first and most im- 
portant point that occurs to those about to form a 
new cemetery is price of land. The lowest priced 
tract that can be found is generally selected and 
considered the cheapest. But is it the cheapest ? 
Land can frequently be had at exceedingly low 
figures which will entail an expenditure of from five 
up to fifteen hundred dollars an acre for develop- 
ment. 
A number of the cemetery officiaL of the 
present day can easily call to mind the large sums 
of money that have been literally sunk in the laying 
out of their grounds. The writer knows of scores 
among the oldest and most beautiful of our burial 
grounds that have been most costly to construct, 
and their maintenance correspondingly heavy, 
owing to the before mentioned fact, that their sites 
were considered unsuited for any commercial pur- 
pose, and consequently were given over to the inter- 
ment of the dead. 
Higher priced lands doubtless could have been 
procured at the time these places were started, 
which would have been far easier to construct, and 
their latercare of comparatively moderate expendi- 
ture. In most of these old places of sepulchre the 
development has been gradual, and the cost there- 
fore not felt, because probably it came out of 
income. But had the monies which were sunk in 
developing the grounds been invested the perpetual 
care fund of these cemeteries would not cause much 
anxiety. 
In the earlier history of most of the old grave- 
yards those portions of the grounds easiest to lay 
out were first brought into use, and until sheer 
necessity compelled the development of the rougher 
and more difficult to handle parts, their improve- 
ment was invariably postponed. The first lot of 
officials have likely passed away, leaving the hardest 
part of the work to the men of to-day. How 
thankful these men should be to the Cemetery 
Superintendents’ Association for the many oppor- 
tunities annually afforded for gaining the requisite 
knowledge by observation and discussion, how best 
to grapple with such work. Their predecessors in 
office had not those golden opportunities for learn- 
ing and, of course, had to perform their duties 
according to their own light, consequently the 
cemetery man of to-day should not review too 
hastily the works of those who came before. 
From the errors of the past in all details of ceme- 
tery management, valuable lessons are being learned 
and should be the means of introducing betterments 
in the future. And it is to the newer cemeteries, 
more particularly in large cities, that the people will 
naturally look for improvement and be inclined to 
copy as models. Their promoters have all the 
opportunities for taking advantage of the “other 
fellow’s ” mistakes and profit thereby. But will 
they? There’s the rub. Too frequently the same 
old error is being perpetrated in making use of the 
lowest priced lands for conversion into “God’s 
Acre. ” 
If projectors of modern cemeteries would only 
consult men experienced in the construction of 
cemeteries it would be better for the future welfare 
of these places. The landscape work in parks, as 
well as of cemeteries, is very similar in character as 
far as the work of beautifying is concerned. Butin 
the former all thought is given to the surface, 
whereas in the cemetery, consideration must be 
given to what lies beneath, and how suitable it may 
prove for the repose of the bodies of the departed 
and not give offense to the living. 
Not long ago a syndicate had an option upon an 
exceedingly rough piece of land which, ascording 
to the real estate man who had it for sale, was an 
ideal spot for a burial ground. One of the mem- 
bers, knowing that a “brand new” cemetery was 
being made near by his boyhood home upon a 
notoriously rough piece of property, that was 
unfitted for building purposes, and had been the 
frolicking place of the community for years, paid a 
visit to the spot and was much impressed with the 
change and improvement. To him it seemed 
scarcely credible that art could have been brought 
into such close communion with nature. 
The party in charge of the work was invited to 
inspect the syndicate property, which was rough 
indeed, and would have made a grand park. Test 
holes were sunk and rock found close to the surface 
all over the entire tract. The cost of constructing a 
cemetery upon such a site would have been enor- 
mous, to say nothing of the large cost in the future 
working. Mr. “Experience” soon selected suitable 
land close by, but the price was more than double, 
and it required considerable argument to convince 
the syndicate that the its adoption would eventually 
prove the cheapest. Bellctt Lawson. 
Mr. E. L. Shuey, representing Mr. John H. 
Patterson, of the National Cash Register Co., Day- 
ton, O., recently delivered alecture, profusely illus- 
trated by stereopticon views, at Westville, Conn., 
on the improvement in home surroundings of the 
employes of the above company, induced by the 
intelligent and philanthropic co-operation of the 
employers. This work has attracted intense inter- 
est wherever it has been described. 
