7 ^ 
PARK AND CEMETERY- 
CEMETERY NOTES. 
At the town meeting held last month in Brookline, Mass., 
an appropriation of $10,500 was made for improvements in 
Walnut Hills cemetery. 
* * * 
The trustees of Oakland cemetery, St. Paul, Minn., are 
considering the question of a suitable home for the superinten- 
dent. The matter has been referred to the committee on 
grou :ds which is examining plans and expenditures. 
* * * 
Perpetual care is a growing factor in the welfare of the 
smaller cemeteries. The Mt. Vernon Cemetery Association 
Trustees, Ahingtou, Mass., now hold $4,700 in trust for the care 
of certain of its lots. 
• » 
Another large cemetery scheme is being exploited in the 
neighborhood of New York. Options have been secured on 
some 1,000 acres of land at Northport, L. I., and the matter has 
been submitted to New York capitalists. 
* * # 
By the will of the late Viola Vose, who resided in Elkhart, 
Ind., for many years, a sum of $5,000 is bequeathed to Grace 
Lawn cemetery, Pdkhart, to provide a granite mausoleum. The 
fund is entrusted to the Knights ■ of Pythias lodge of Elkhart. 
* * * 
The superintendent of St. Joseph's cemetery, Manchester, 
N. H., appears to have come into conflict with the health offi- 
cers of that city, with a pos.sibility of trouble for himself. The 
cause is non-compliance with the laws requiring the top of the 
burial case to be four feet below the level of the surrounding 
ground, and the violation of this law is said to amount to over 
thirtv instances in recent burials. 
* • * 
In the annual report of the Utica Cemetery Association, 
Utica, N. Y., the years statement showed total income for the 
year, $19,646,91, which included: sales of lots, $8,655.79; inter- 
ments, $1,561; care of lots, $5 021.87. Among expenditures 
were; labor, $9, 117.31; supplies, $637. 17; expenses, $2,292.94; im- 
provements, $2,198.82; salaries, $2,610. Total amount of trust 
funds and interest, April r, 1900, $76,843.15. 
* » • 
There have been the usual reports of vandalism at various 
cemeteries over the country, but a gratifying fact in connection 
with these depredations is that recourse to law is ha ing a very 
wholesome effect on such miscreants. The decorations at the 
gates of -St. Agnes cemetery, Albany, N Y., consisting of 
bunches of palms, a custom adopted for Palm Sunday, were in 
part wrenched from their fastenings early the following morn- 
ing. 
* * it 
The danger to cemeteries lying contiguous to railroad 
tracks was confirmed by a recent fire in the Negaunee cemetery, 
Negaunee, Mich. A spark settled the fence separating the 
Protestant and Catholic divisions, which quickly fanned into a 
blaze in the high wind, and ran over about an acre in the Cath- 
olic grounds. A number of headstones were destroyed and con- 
siderable fencing before the fire department could check the de- 
V istation. 
* * * 
The Catholic Cemetery Association owning Calvary and 
Mount Olivet cemeteries, Chicago, are preparing the propert}- 
purchased sotne 5 years ago for burial purposes. The new cem- 
etery called Mount Carmel, contains 160 acres of land, and is 
located about 14 miles west of the city. The work of construct- 
ing roads and preparing the land for cultivation was begun last 
fall. Mount Olivet and Calvary are being rapidly occupied, 
and when more ground is needed Mount Carmel will be read}’. 
» * * 
The trustees of the cemeteries of Delaware, O., are consid- 
ering the question of erecting a new office building in Oak 
Grove cemetery, on modern lines. In the report submitted at 
the annual meeting a gratifying increase was noted in the Per- 
petual Care P'und, which now amounts to $4,336.27, and the 
trustees believe that it will continue a healthy growth from 
year to year. In the smaller cemeteries the main difficulty is 
found in providing funds for the old lots acquired years ago and 
in which interest has been practically lost, but in many places 
this has been met by the gene"osity of people of means who 
have the welfare of the whole cemetery at heart. 
* * * 
The annual report of Forest Home cemetery, Milwaukee, 
Wis., dated April ist, shows gross receipts for the year to have 
been $93,521.90. This includes sale of lots, $21,188.90; graves, 
$2,827; interments private lots, $2, 173; cremations, $1, 100; 
care of lots, $23,610.35; foundations, etc., $3,545.33. The dis- 
bursements included, general care of cemetery, 11,846.66; work 
on lot owner’s orders, $12,632.76; foundations, $1,638.72; .sal- 
aries, $7,000; cremation supplies, $429.36. The Reserve Funds 
amount to $156,453.16, of which $26, 179.08 is the Perpetual Care 
Fund, which increased a little over $5,000 for the year. There 
were 713 interments and 44 cremations during the year. The 
corporation has recently issued a circular on the latter impor- 
tant subject giving a summary of the state laws and other in- 
formation for lot owners. 
» * * 
Governor Roosevelt of New York, has attached his signa- 
ture to the bill to regulate interments in cities of the third class 
in that state. The bill provides that when the Common Coun- 
cil of a city of the third class decides that further interments in 
a cemetery within the city limits would be detrimental to the 
city's health it may cause a notice to be served on the penson or 
corporation owning the cemetery, and also have the notice pub- 
lished once a week for three consecutive weeks in a paper of the 
city, directing the owners to appear at a certain time and show 
why the city should not prohibit further interments in the 
grounds of the cemetery in question. The parties are to be 
given a hearing, and the Board may then pass a resolution pro- 
hibiting further interments. 
♦ « * 
The report of the council of the Cremation Society of En- 
gland for 1899 contains considerable information on the progress 
of cremation as a substitute for earth burial. A stride has been 
made in England in the fact that many municipal corporations 
have applied for parliamentary power to enable them to piovide 
for cremation, and it appears to have become the practice to in- 
sert the clauses conferring such powers in any bill promoted bv 
a municipal corporation that does not possess them. The mu- 
nicipality of Hull has constructed a crematory under such pow- 
ers. Besides this the London County Council is promoting a 
bill in parliament to enable every burial authority that desires 
to do so to provide crematories out of the public taxes. At the 
cremation society’s plant at Woking there was no increase in 
the number of incinerations in 1899 over the year 1898, 240 be- 
ing the number in both years, and the total number of crema- 
tions to date at Woking is 1,523. During 1S99, 88 bodies were 
cremated at Manchester, 16 at Glasgow and 23 at Liver- 
pool. 
