The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1876-10-30
CREM ALTON.
Description of DIR. lie MOyne's Furn.
ace AT Washington, ia.

ace at Washington, E'n.
WAsHINGT5N, Pa, October 9th.
Editors OF the Register:
As Is we'll known, one of our worthy
citizens is persuaded that interment Is
not best, and nat cremation is the proper
mode of disposing of the dead. His
reasoIs Tor thinking thus have been well
stated by himself, hence L will not mon
ton them. In accordance with this con-
vlction, DR.. lie Moyne began the erection
of house, to be devoted to this purpose,
early in the fall. L. Is situated within u
mile of the borough, On top of the Gal
lows Hill. On account of some difficulty
in &c ting the retort moulded, the build
ing was not completed TIL last week.
Cremation Hall, as this house is named,
is rather unpretentions and unimpos-
ing in appearance. 1t is built
of common brick, with plain wood on
door and window frames and corrugated
galvanized iron roof. 1t is divided into
two rooms; the larger of these, designed
for the reception of the corpse and
mourners and for the preservation of the
remains. is eighteen feet square. The
other room is ten by eighteen feet 1t
contains the furnace, which is about SIX
by eight feet and seven feet high.
Crl csc dimension include the furnace
proper. the retort and surrounding ma
sonry.) All of this, save the retort, is
much the same as any other furnace.
The retort is semi.cylindrcsl, seven feet
nine inches long, two feet four inches
wide by one foot nine inches high in
niche and Its sides are about four inches
thick. 1t Is made of the best fire clay.
1t has two apertures, one for the admis
sion of the coffin containing corpse, the
other for the escape of gases, smoke, etc.
The former of these Is closed during an
operation by cast iron door, in which
is small hole (hslf an inch in diameter)
forIthe admission OF oxygen to prevent the
body from becoming cooked" The lat
ter is at the top OF the retort at the rear
end. All gaseous matter passes through
this hole flour inches in diameterl, thence
through pair OF tues each fifteen feet
long. BY this arrangement all impuri-
ties are consumed before the gases reach
the chimney. By the way, this is an
original idea of the doctors.
Last Wednesday the bodies of two
sheep were incinerated as q test of TIE
work. The retort had been previously
heated to a redness The sheep were put
into rough pine box five feet long, then
introduced into the retort. In the course
of i've or six hours all was reduced to
ashes, and the furnace was allowed to
cool down. During the burning there
Was nothing perceptible in the air of an
offensive nature, except the pitch-like |
smell from the box. At five o'clock YES |
terday evening the ashes were taken from |
the retort and weighed; the remains of
l64 pounds of sheep and 62 pounds of .
box weighed less than screen pounds.
Dr. LeMoyne proposes to dedicate this
to the use of the public, with becoming
on the occasion of the
first operation. The doctor is at
an expense OF shout $1,000, yet for the
good OF reform" he gives this for public
use. He estimates that the whole cost of
cremating body will not exceed $40.
This sum includes the cost of a cheap
coffin and coke sufficient to- perform the
operation (about thirty bushels) and
wages of an attendant who attends to the
furnace. JOLT.