Year: 1876

dlsllke out utterly deSplSe.


CREMATION.


Sepulchers OF the Future. Crema


tiOn Furnace Of DIR. lie MOyne, of Lit


tie Washington, Pa Description o


the Building.


A reporter for a Pittsburgh papel


recently visited the cremation fur


mace of DR.. lie Moyne. of Little Wash


ington, Pa, and gives the following
description of the singular structure


But little additional attention tC


the details OF preparation is needed
to complete the arrangements for the
reception Of the corpse that will e.
come historical as being the frs
cremated in this country. No fees
will be charged for cremation, it be.
ing the intention of DIR. LIE Moyne to
put this means OF disposing OF the
dead within the reach of the poorest
OF the poor. Hundreds of people Wis.
it the furnace daily, and on the day OF
its Inauguration a multitude will nc
doubt be in attendance. The furnace
is inclCsed in building which is al
once the cemetery and the grave
Economy is one of the Doctors pet
hobbies, and the building has been
constructed upon economical princi-
plies. 1t is OF brick, but one story in
height, with roof OF corrugated iron
1t has three chimneys of ordinary
size, one leading from the furnace
room, one from the reception room
and third from one of the corners
OF the building. The use OF the third
is simply to preserve the architecture
al symmetry OF the structure. The
house is divided into two rooms, the
reception and the furnace room. The
reception room Is about twenty feet
square. It's furniture is OF the sim
plest kind, consisting simply Of cat
afalque for the bodies to rest upon, a
shelved case, with transparent glass
door, in which the remains OF the ere.
mated will be deposited. few chairs
for the accommodation OF friends OF
the departed. and a small stove to
make things comfortable i'm cold
weather. A door leads from this
room into the cremation department
proper, which is room OF about
IOx2O feet


In the cremation room there is
nothing but the furnace. The retort
has been made especially for the ac-
commodation Of collins. 1t is seven
and one-half feet in length, twenty
inches in height, and twenty eight
inches wide. All these are inside
measurements. The retort somewhat
resembles gas retort, the difference
being that its sides are perpendicular
insteSp of being arched. Above the
perpendicular line, along which the
collins will rest, the retort is arched
and it is built around with brick work
In the same style that gas retorts are.
In the work of cremation coke will be
used, and it is calculated that the re-
tort can be brought to a white heat
in twenty four hours. When this de-
gree Of heat is obtained the body to
lie cremated, inclosed in the plainest
sort OF pine coffin, is put into the
furnace, and in few hours the work
of incineration will be complete. The
present calculations of DR.. lie Moyne
do not provide for the elimination of
the wood ashes OF the coffin from the
human ashes OF the person cremated.
This, however, the doctor does not
consider to be a very great objection,
as the proportion OF wood ashes will
be only as one pound to five, and af-
ter the furnace is i'm practical opera
tiOn, il this objection be found to Sc
riously initiate against it's success.
method which the doctor has in con-
temptation will be put into opera
ton.


A number OF boxes large enough to
hold four or five pounds of ashes will
be provided by the doctor. These
will be made of metal. or of elastic
glass, the material not having yet
been decided upon. Upon one end OF
the boxes there will be a place for
the photograph Of the person whose
ashes are inside, and below the pho
will be a record of the date
of the death, and OF the date OF the
cremation of the powdered individual
These boxes will be stored i'm the
case in the reception-room, already
and there they will be pre-
served subject To the demands OF the
relatives OF the deceased. In this
same case there will be kept the
record Of all cremations, and these
will be always accessible to persons
having the right to inspect them. An
ixdex of the'boxes will be kept, and
the ashes Of any man, or his mother
in law. can be got at with the great
est facility. There will be no danger
of the escape OF any part of the re-
mains after they have been reduced
to powder. The boxes will be her
sealed, and in packing them
the greatest care will be taken to get
possession Of every atom of the cre-
mated.


The height of the chimneys from
the top Of the building is disappoint-