The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-06-07

oil IL charred there follows on us ) deep aepres'
SON. Professor Brunette does not succeed Ia 70.
ducng the corpse completely to ashes.
Professor Gorinps method Is at present secret
We know so much, however, that he uses cast
iron receptacle two metres In length, seventy
centmetres wide and forty centlmetres high, ana
that he assumes to know OF substance by which,
heated to an extremely high temperature th6
corpse Is dissolved In very few moments even To
the very last particle, into q nud matter At an
experiment the body, after the mysterious subs
stance was poured over It, burned up rapidly and
noiselessly, and no offensive gases were produced
by the operation. Professor Gorini uses brick
oven, fed with Goals, for the purpose OF heating
the mysterious substance. He says that by dispos.
ing OF ten bodies together in this manner the cost
ia reduced TO about six francs per corpse. These
are the noteworthy Italian methods OF cremation.
THE GERMAN METHOD.
In Germany the system proposed by Processes
Reclaim, or Leipsc, promises to be successful to Q
degree not anticipated by the Italians. Reclam's
method is an adaptation for cremation purposes
OF o system OF heating by means OF gas, first, In
vented by @. w. ana FIR. Siemens OF Berlin. Pros
lessor RECLAIM wrote an interesting letter some
Time ago to the Au0sburOer Au0emetxer Zettstn0,
which we will follow. The regenerative system
(hy @ W. and Fl. Siemens) Is method OF heating
BY means Of ordinary gas, and consists OF three
parts-First, the generator; second, the regen-
orator, and third, the place where an object Is to
De melted or burned, which we may term the
cremation room" The generator" Is KIND or
bricked feeding oven In which the firing material
twood, turf or coal is placed on gridiron. mo
ventilation being imperfect or retarded. gas
10 thereby formed. This gas consists for
the most part In q mixture Of carbon. nitrogen
and carburerted hydrogen, and comes from the
generator" at temperature OF from $50 to 200
degrees Reaumur. 1t then enters the 'regen-
erator'-tnat is, dice shaped room, walled with
nreproof stone-and is nlled with o parallel, per-
pendicuiar and horizontal CRATE work walng.
This grave work OF building stone Is heated by tho
burning gas, which is then led into the 'burning
or cremation ROOM" being led OF thence
through q high chimney. Close beside this
cremation roomn there Is (but the opposite
stde) another "regenerator," through the crate
work walling of which the fiery air goes to the
chimney, whittier at will the burning gas can be
directed so soon as the "regenerator" Is heated
to white glow. Thereupon the burning gas and
air OF "white glown temperature can be con-
Quoted, separately or together, into the ''crema-
ton ROOM" BY o system OF regulation the heat
can be increased 'Immeasu-ably."
This process seemed to Professor RECLAIM to be
the best means for the rapid burning OF the dead
He consulted with technical men; md in 5eptem-
Der of the past year Herr Steinmann, Of Dresden.
constructed for him model place OF cremation.
This model was improved on In December last BY
F. Siemens who uses regeneration instead OF
two. Professor Reclaim hopes soon to be enabled
to record other important improvements mo
other method OF cremation says DR.. Reclaim,
"treats the body OF the deceased person In such q
simple and pious manner. Before the assembled
mourners the corpse with or without the COMM
| is lowered into smoothly walled room, where no
other objects are found. Nothing touches the
| Sho ONp honf an tn Wynt O1n ur
intensity, the oxygen OF which combines with
| the atoms Of the organic structure.
Only the ashes remain, and these can be gathered
| up unmi xed with foreign substances" The pro-
cess OF cremation occupies scarcely twenty min
utes, and only handful Of snow white ashes re-
mains OF what once was q human pelng. The COST
of single process Is but two or three tbaers, bus
from $15 900 Is required for the construc-
ton OF the building and apparatus. The system
promises to win its way in Germany, and there
every likelihood that before long 1t will be In
full operation in several German cities.
/ CAUSE OF THE PRESENT AGITATION.
| Professor Recam's project Is finding acceptance,
as l said In several large cities OF Germany. Be-
sides Vienna, where the Medical Society ably dis
cussed the matter and proposed that cremation be
permitted. but not made an obligatory mode OF
burying the Dead Gratz took up the matter
earnestly, and the Communal Council, in special
i the new process Very valiant were the burgo-
master and five communal councillors OF ODER.
dUbling near Vienna, who sent In to the Vienna
Medical Society q written testament declaring
their wish to undergo the process OF cremation
whenever they shall depart this life. This Is all
very we'll we know how easy 1t is to make
such bold declarations, but how lew OF such deter
limitations are carried out when the time comes.
Some big, aristocratic parsonage must first lead
the way IN this matter before we can expect Gre
nation to become popular. You may burn up the
poor and the paupers by the score II you WILL but
the custom OF burial will be retained, and the
more 80 because ordinary people Will be burned
up. People are not, perhaps, so clearly convinced
Of the pernicious Influences Of graveyards, and
we know very well that in we'll regulated
and laid out cemeteries this injurious
influence is reduced to minimum. In times Of
war and pestllence, however, cremation by q SCI
enti1c process would prove ofimmeasurable ben
eat We only need to recall the terrible desorip-
lions OF the battle fields OF Graveotte and Sedan
to be convinced that by the immense numbers or
dead caused by our modern art OF warfare thor
ough change in the metnoo OF disposng OF the
dead is necessary. In times OF pestilence the Gre
nation process would prove beneficial.
THE RETURN TO ANTIQUITY.
In adopting cremation as a means OF disposing
of the dead the German peoples OF Europe will
simply return to custom which was once COM
mon TO all Indo-Germanic peoples. This fact has
been proved by Professor Unger,. OF G5ttngen.
Tacitus knew OF no other method OF disposing OF
the dead among the Germans and Dlodorus OF
Sicily among the Celts The custom prevailed
among the Sclaves and with the Greeks and
Romans although burial was also custom
airy among these two peoples. The Etruscans
borrowed the custom OF burning their dead from
the Romans. Charlemagne found the custom OF
burning the dead prevalent among the heather
Germans, and wrote several DEGREES against 1t to
the Christian priests. The religious opposition
against the new movement is not extraordinarily
strong IN Germany. SO many thousands OF mar
tyrs both Catholics and Professionals have landed
safely in the heavenlv regions after their bodies