New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-10-31
FORTY YEARS IN GREENWOOD.
CHANGES MADE IN THE GREAT CEMETERY

CHANGES MADE IN THE GREAT CEMETERY,
THE Brsr KIND Of MARBLE FOR MONUMENTS AND
WOOD FOR corFISs-sELrisH HUMAN NATURE.
at has been very healthy in NewYork for the las>
year. the last two years 10 tact' said superintendent
L. j. Wells, at Greenwood Cemetery recently. aThs
number of burals has been light this year. averaging
only about fourteen day. What was the largest
daily averaged Eghty-iour Tnat was during the
cholera scourgc in New-York in 1868 IL was q busy
| time here them
| Mr. Wells is pleasant-voiced man with gray hair.
who has had the care of New.York aud Brooklyn's
great repository for the dead for many years He has
seen Greenwood grow from a vacant unimpfoved plot
of 200 acres to tract Oh SURPRISING beauty, peoped
with nearly quarter OF millIon OF dead and cover.
| ing nearly a square mile of territory. hr. Wells
considers Greenwood the largest and nnest cemetery
in the world II chartered ia 1888. and the hrss
burial was that Sarah Hannah. OF this city, on Sep
TENDER 8, 1910. Now there more than 236, 100
bodies 4ried there.
Is the cemetery large enough nowi' asked the
reporter
at is large enough to furnish lots for the ne1s
twenty five years. and after that we don't care The
lots will be large enough to accommodate their owners
for years to come, and shall have surplus large
enough to keep the grounds in order forever"
"Then Greenwood will be practically closed
or artcr of a century hence ~
That is the idea exactly. II Is large enough now
to be readily handled. Our fund for the permanent
care OF the cemetery being added to steadily and
now amounts to 1861 200 % Our trust fund for tho
care OF special graves ia already large one and We
have had the cemetery boundaries fixed by the streets
and bouevsrds of the city. so that the presens
boundaries will be permanent All that viii De aone
TO the grounds after 1910 them will be to keep them
looking beautiful You see the Greenwood Cemetery
Corporation not stock company, as most similar
associa ions are. 1t is trust company. and 20 one
gets any money out OF IL save the employees All that
remains after the annual expenses are PAID ia added
to tie surplus fund that is being put away for the
future OF the cemetery Every Lotto 10 o
stockholder. There over $4,000 OF them. Every
improvement has been ade upon tue grounds. We
have stone crshers artesian wells thorough sewerage,
aud have just finished reservoir to hold o3I 900
gallons that stands Mt. Washington. the highest
point Long Island, and Is about 20 feet above
tide-water This stores the water pumped from our
wells and gives a greater and much needed pressure.
new eigh-nch water main will be LAID this fall.
taking the place OF one OF four inches The changes IN
Greenwood since | here IN 1915 have been
marvellous. am the only one left OF the attaches
vino were here then"
AWhat is the most durable material tor monu-
mentsi"
Dark blue granite. from Quincy Mass Bronse
con- next but it is costly and il being aduteratet
so much now that of it poor. There has been
great revolution in the gravestoDe business. People
have found that blue granite is the best stone to
wear and they are using nothing else. The rage for
Italian marble began TO die out ten years ago. There
are veins in it which are imperceptible when the
work IL new, but which exposure develops and then
the work of ruin begins. We do not allow Enclosures
to be made of it at all and the beet stonecuters will
not recommend it 10 customers All Enclosures now
requr I'd to be OF granite coping granite posts
and bars of either galvanized iron or brass No iron
chains hedges allowed This will Keep the
grounds from Disagreement in after years 1t is the
result OF dearly bought experience. Brownstones
No there hasn't been any brownstone used here for
twenty years 1t is not durable Scotch granite TOO.
doesn't stand as expected it woad. Light
granite turns yellow with age"
DO tombs ever fall IN !"
"Some OF the old ones get out of repair. In the
early days people were allowed TO bud them OF brick
and in the most imperfect manner Now we require
that the 10 rs oil tcmbs shall be thick granite slab
so as shed The back and corners have to be
solid pieces also, and the walls have to be two cet
thick with no upright joints William 5. RIdabock, Of
New-York, is erecting one down the avenue built
after the have just described, that will stand
for ages IL will cost clio, 600"
vii coins that are made now last as long those
formerly used I" .
think the old fashioned mahogany collins would
out-ast by fal almost any other coffin. Many OF the
collins that they sell now are simply glued together.
Not even iled. We've learned bis from experlencej
after bodies have been lett IN the receiving vault
few weeks the glue is dissol we'd by moisture AMI the
collins apart Metallic cotns are rea lily affected
by heat and cold and hence spring and break. that
il, they do in receiving vaults
Does a wooden box protect a coffin ~ -
"On the contrary, II made OF pine it will warp
quickly and catch and retain water. Fastening decay
box of chestnut will last longer than anything else
Underground. Even in mud and water it will hold
" Which are the best woods for collins ;"
L" Chestnut and black walnut are the most durable.
But lOng body is to remain where 1t Is buried,
il makes little difference what ii is encassd M
DO trees push their roots into graves much is
popularity supposed ~
Some trees are bad for cemeteries. Two that
have mind particularly. They the ailanthus
and the whte-leaved maple. Neither of these
varieties is allowed In Greenwood because the roots
spread so rapidly"
Mr. Wells then told a story illustrating how selfish
human nature crops out even in the sacre duty Of
buryiGg ones dead Attached TO the cemetery isa
receiving vault that will hold l. 100 bodies. Collins
kept there uCt lots procured and graves
prepared for them. The fee tor leaving bodies the
time of winch he spoke 81 each, an it kept
at this figure until il To DC noticed that the
vault gradually illing up and the arrivals
constantly larger than the departures. Investigation
showed that of the bodies had been lett there for
years, waiting the further attention of friends who
never There ascertained to be 900 OF
these collins. and finally the corporation dug trench
and placed all OF them in IT, styling the grave the
Unclaimed Dead After that the fee for receiving
bodies at the vault raised to $50. which sum is
applied on the burial lot account when a lot is bought.
Since then only few bodies have been deserted the
vault Now aud then there is one but the deposit
made Mt the time OF ts reception suiiccs TO bury it
properly in public lot The boxes in which the
re identified if any of them called tor.
lead now added xr Wells.
NATIONAL CAPIlAL TOPICS