Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-04-09
STYLES IN COFFINS.
The Earth-to-Earth Casket of Rat
 tan the Latest Novelty.
Gable -Roofed Coffins, Carved Wood Cofllns and Cofflns That Arc Mado fin ImitA- ton of Marblo-Evenlng Funer-
 als-Undertakers' Bills.

t1on or marblo-Cvenlng Funor-
 als-Undortakers' Bills.
 "The latest and newest thing in cofins," said Rev. Stephen Merritt, to New York Sun reporter, ''is the earth -to-earth cas- ket. Itis an oblong casket made of rattan stripped of its outer gloss. It is called 'earth-to-earth' because through it's open work meshes the air has free access to the remains, dissolution follows quickly, and the body soon assimilates with the earth. The cost is about the same as that of an or dinary coffin, from $75 up, according to the trimmings. The present construction is an American idea, but similar caskets have been used in England. They are strong enough for the purpose, yet they will soon. CT disappear in the ground than any that have ever been used"
 Within a few years the business of the undertaken has undergo(Da complete rev. olution. In 1854 mahogany coffin was sold for SIP. Now a mahogany coffin is rarely used, and, if used, would cost a great deal more. Then 8 funeral cost $75 to $1OO that would now cost three or four times as much. The fashions have changed. For . time rosewood and black walnut were gen. erally used; now the greater part are cloth-covered caskets of various shapes. The old-fashioned coffin shape has entirely disappeared. For young people caskets are used covered with various delicate shades of plush. The interior trimmings of the caskets, the shrouds and flowers all con- tribute to take away the old time ghastly appearance of corpse.
 In old times undertakers made their own cofdns. Now the business has got into the hands of enormous concerns that keep only offices in the large cities and maintain great factories in the country near lumber dis tricts, where labor and materials may bel had to advantage. Some of these big firms pub fish large books with cuts of the different styles of coffins. Each firm will have hum dreds of styles and often carry a stock of e50, 900 worth of coff1ns.
 The old-fashioned ice box is going out of date. Embalming is rapidly taking it's place. Shortly after death about three pints of a colorless liquid is injected into the arteries, and then the body may be kept for an indefinite period. The natural color ! and expression are preserved, and, in cases of cancellation, appearance is even im- proved. The cost is but a trifle beyond the | cost of ice
 cheaper rates than ever before. They are | much used in cases of contagious diseases or ! in sarcophagi, or where transportation for long distances is necessary.
 The most durable wood is cedar. The | cloth covered collins are made of pine or ! cherry. A late style of cloth coffin has ! carved work over which the cloth is close V pressed. For young people ight-col- ored cloth caskets are frequently used Metal caskets are largely used in Cuba and | the South. There is a peculiar white casket | made to initiate marble. It is ornamented with raised plaster figures, scrolls or flow | CTS initiating the carving of marble. There | is apeculiar oak casket made with cover in | the form of a cross. Some of the crosses are \ mounted on three steps-one step for each | member of the Trinity.
 There is 8 late tendency to expend most | money upon the coffin and things that show | in the house or at the church, and there Is less disposition to have long line of car ! riages. Evening funerals are largely in | vogue for the reason that men are less | likely to be kept away at that time by busi- ! ness. At day funerals it Is customary for | the intimate friends only to go to the ceme- | tery. A late fashion is to line the coffin ot an elderly person with black satin.
 Practically, cremation has not decreased | the cost of funerals much. In many cases expensive caskets have been used, as they would have been if the bodies had been | buried in the ordinary way. There seems ! to be an ineradicable idea that any sort of | economy about a funeral shows want of respect for the dead. A good deal of the ! disputation and dissatis faction over under | takers bills comes from this source. ! People overwhelmed with grief do not care to haggle about prices. They say to the
 undertaken: "Do every thing in the best ! style and send the bill to me-" They do not think that there are many details of fun eral that can best be attended to by some members of the family, and that when the
 undertaken looks after them it takes a | great deal of time, trouble and expense, ! for which he is justified in charging.
 The cost of a funeral varies from nine | dollars, the lowest charge for burying an ! infant, to S14, 163.75, which was Stephen
 Merritts bill for the burying of General
 Grant. There Is every reason why, when ! there is a death in family, some clear
 headed member of that family should go tc
 the undertaken and make all the requisite
 arrangements, and ascertain precisely
 what the funeral is going to cost. People
 who intend to pay are more apt to do this
 People who do not intend to pay are likely | to order every thing in lavish style. Ir
 some instances the undertaken can collect | from mans estate, but in many he does | not collect at all.
 ! Sometimes people promise to pay on the ! day of the funeral, and then, when all the ' arrangements are made, they refuse to pay. | Not long ago an east side undertaken ! stopped the funeral, took the body out, and | walked of with the casket under his arm
 But it brought such a storm about his ears
 that it ruined his business. Much more | successful was the action of another under | taker who had been earnestly promised
 that his bill would be paid before the funera | left the house in the morning. When all
 was ready to start the undertaken asked
 for his pay according to agreement. The
 person who refused 1t said, tauntingly:
 "You can't help yourself; if you stop this ! f,1pora1 if will ruin VOLT buSneSSV "
 Good morning." said the undertaken, l meekly, as he walked of. And he didn't @ 1 to his place of business until nine o'clock p I'm. Then he found the relatives of tho
 deceased meekly awaiting his arrival and
 anxious to pay their bill. They had gone t the cemetery, but they had to- postpone
 the funeral because he had the burial per init in his pocketl There are about five thousand varieties Q!
 handles made for burial caskets. The
 latest are covered with plush or cloth tho
 color of the casket. Different fashions pre- l xo{l in different localities Tn Philadelphis