360 
PA.RK AND CEMETERY 
SMONUMENTAL ^ authorities of Paris, 
ART IcNi France, are facing the problem 
LARGE CITIES. of meeting the growing senti- 
ment against so mucli statuary and monumental em- 
bellishment in the open spaces of the city. Notwith- 
standing the high order of French sculpture, there 
are many examples of plastic art occupying prominent 
sites in the beautiful city, which are not to be com- 
mended from some points of view. A strong feeling 
is developing that the open spaces in the congested 
sections should be beautified with park-like effects, 
and to those acquainted with Paris this sentiment 
will be warmly endorsed. There is danger of this 
excess of a good thing in our own larger cities, al- 
though at present it is not to be feared, for the reason 
that few of them have a reasonable display of monu- 
mental art ; but the experience of Paris emphasizes 
the importance of securing competent art commis- 
sions. entirely removed from jiolitical influences, de- 
voted to the beautifying of the city under their care, 
and so constituted that the public may be absolutelv 
confident that the highest principles of art, in all its 
departments, will be drawn upon for the city’s wel- 
fare. 
SUNDAY 
FUNERALS. 
In the larger cities the custom of 
Sunday funerals is rapidh’ de- 
creasing, and in New York City 
it has become almost obsolete, according to observa- 
tions of a prominent funeral director in that citv, as 
given in The Casket. It has been a custom for which 
there were many excuses in the days gone by, both on 
ethical and economical grounds ; with the well-to-do 
and well known, mainly for notoriety and publicitv, 
and with the poor chiefly for economical reasons. The 
intelligence and enlightenment of to-day has decreed 
that the necessity of the Sunday funeral, except in 
specified cases, has ceased to be, and the crusade 
carried on in recent years against the custom has so 
far efifectually modified it, that it is becoming a rare 
occurrence in the large cemeteries. Both the clergy 
and the cemetery officials find in these altered con- 
ditions a well-deserved relief, for in the past both 
mental and physical energy have frequently been taxed 
to their limits to meet the strain which Sunday laid 
upon them. It is becoming possible for cemeteries in 
general to amend their by-laws so as to prohibit, under 
certain restrictions, the Sunday funeral, without en- 
tailing u])on them the ill-will of their constituencies. 
SNiURSERY 
CATALOGUES. 
There has been a decided im- 
provement in the selection and 
arrangement of the text in the 
catalogues of rei)resentative nurservmen, and as there 
is still room for jn'ogress it may be observed : Let the 
good work go on. The day is far past for exaggera- 
tion and perversion of facts, and yet there are still 
numerous florists and nurserymen’s annual pamphlets 
which, to the average intelligent reader, contain a 
mass of rubbish unworthy of both the cause and the 
grower. Every nurseryman can find something of 
special interest in his collection upon which to dilate 
intelligently, and so introduce into his catalogue some- 
thing of a characteristic personality, which will im- 
part both tone and interest to his production and chain 
the attention of his readers. But in a general way 
there is still room for great improvement in the mat- 
ter of illustrations. With the perfection to which 
modern illustrating has been brought, and its speed 
and comparative inexpensiveness, there is no excuse 
for the old style and obsolete wood cuts and poor pen 
and ink drawings of nature’s products. Many prom- 
inent and wide-awake nurserymen have for some time 
past made it a practice of illustrating specimen trees, 
shrubs, and flowers from their grounds, as well as of 
arranged groups of shrubbery, etc., which give a de- 
cided tone to their books and have an educationa’ in- 
terest. Old stock cuts have no place in the catalogues 
of to-day, nor should exaggeration and perversion of 
facts either in cuts or text be found in nurservmen’s 
literature. It does not and will not pay. 
CEMETERY 
ESNJRANCES. 
There is no phase of cemetery 
practice worthy of more practical 
attention and consideration than 
that pertaining to the design and improvement of its 
entrance, and this was particularly impressed upon 
the members of the Association of American Ceme- 
tery Superintendents at their recent convention in 
Boston, by the examples presented to them during 
their inspection of the cemeteries of that city and its 
environs. To put the matter dogmatically, the ceme- 
tery entrance should be its most attractive feature. It 
should be laid out, planted and improved on lines 
calculated to inspire cheerfulness and delight, and to 
avoid as far as possible any suggestiveness of the cem- 
etery. Sufficient space should be provided for park- 
like effects, shrubbery and flowers combining to di- 
vert the mind and exert the soothing influence which 
nature, in her beauty, so bountifully exerts. An ar- 
tistic treatment can be made to screen the cemetery 
proper from^ all outside observation, at the same time 
adding immensely to the attractiveness of the grounds. 
Depressing influences are diverted and an altogether 
different atmosphere is made to surround those bent 
upon the saddest errand of our human existence. 
From a business standpoint, advantages are many in 
its favor, and results in improvements of this charac- 
ter are readily realized and greatly appreciated by lot- 
owners and visitors. 
