USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > The Cincinnati Cemetery of Spring Grove: reports forms, etc > Part 3
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170 Cupressus thyoides,
171 Juniperus communis,
172
suecia,
Swedish
173 66 sabina,
Savin.
174
virginiana,
Red Cedar.
175
pendula,
Weeping Juniper.
176 Picea balsamæa,
177
pectinata,
English Silver Fir.
178
nobilis,
Noble
Mexican “
180 Pinus austriaca,
Austrian Pine.
181
66 excelsa,
Bhotan
182
laricio,
Corsican
183
66 rigida,
Pitch
184 strobus,
White
185
cembra,
Cembran
186 sylvestris, 66
Scotch
Dwarf
188
inops,
Jersey 66
189
66 rubra,
Red
Canadian Yew.
191 Thuja occidentalis,
American Arbor Vitæ.
192
orientalis,
Chinese
193
tartarica,
Tartarian
194
66 filiformis,
Thready-leaved Arbor Vitæ.
195 Buxus suffruticosa,
Dwarf box.
196 arborescens,
Tree Box.
197 Cotoneaster microphylla,
Small-leaved Cotoneaster.
198 Cratægus pyracantha,
Pyracanthus Thorn.
199 Euonymus japonica,
Japan Euonymus.
200 Yucca filamentosa,
Thready Adamsneedle.
Additions to this list have already been made, and more will be con- stantly added.
SPRING GROVE CEMETERY at present contains 280 acres of land, including all the different purchases.
Hymalaya. White Cedar.
Common Juniper.
Balsam Fir.
179
religiosa,
187 pumila,
190 Taxus baccata,
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REPORTS
FROM THE
Landscape Gardener and the Superintendent.
In the following reports from the above named officers will be found so many useful hints and judicious observations in relation to the affairs of their several departments, that they will give a permanent value to this publication. The members of the Association will perceive that the care and management of their grounds are in the hands of intelligent per- sons who understand their duties, and possess the good taste requisite for their proper performance.
The present Agents of the Association are :
ADOLPH STRAUCH, Landscape Gardener and Superintendent. CHAS. MOON, Sexton.
CYRUS DAVENPORT, Secretary.
The Landscape Gardener is improving, laying out, and decorating Spring Grove in conformity with the rules established by the most emi- nent authors, who have given attention to the subject of rural Cem- eteries.
The Superintendent and Engineer has charge of all matters connected with the disposal of the lots, and of the interments.
The reports of the Secretary, which will constitute a separate chapter, will indicate the various details belonging to his department and the care- ful attention paid to them.
SPRING GROVE CEMETERY, October 1, 1856.
To the President and Directors of Spring Grove :
GENTLEMEN :- In compliance with your wishes, I will briefly state my views respecting the laying out and keeping of a rural Cemetery, with reference to their practical appli- cation at Spring Grove.
JOHN ELS ELINER
FOUR
DIED OCT. 16.1857. AGED 58 YEARS.
ELSTNER ..
Ebrgott &Forbriger both.Civ (
JOHN ELSTNER'S MONUMENT.
[ 3] ]
Good taste would seem to suggest that a rural Cemetery should par- cake more of the character of a cheerful park or garden, than of a com- mon grave yard, where everything has a gloomy and dismal appearance, and every inch of ground is used for graves.
A rural Cemetery should form the most interesting of all places for contemplative recreation, and everything in it should be tasteful, classical, and poetical. I would, therefore, recommend the preservation of all corner lots at the junction of the Avenues, for the planting of forest trees, which will afford to Stockholders and Visitors places of delightful shady repose and pleasant drives, avoiding exposure to the burning sun, as is now the case in consequence of a large number of our forest trees having died. In planting those places care should be taken, that too many varieties are not mixed together, always bearing in mind, that sim- plicity is the foundation of true beauty. " The elevated grandeur of form, the delightful distribution of varied coloring, the magical interchange of tints, and the delicate transition from light to shade, can only be produ- ced by the employment of trees and shrubs corresponding in kind." The effect produced by the colors which certain trees assume in autumn, should be especially attended to, as the monotonous appearance of a plan- tation of evergreens, common on many Cemeteries, is wonderfully relieved by introducing trees, whose leaves assume brilliant colors in autumn; such as the Scarlet Oak, the Scarlet Maple, the Sour Gum, the Tulip Tree, and the Sugar Maple.
The grading of the entire surface of the grounds should be done under the control of the Directors, and in no case should private fancy or caprice be so far indulged as to deform the harmonious beauty of the grounds with petty terraces and vertical lines. As it is far easier and cheaper to grade an entire section in order to produce a natural and pleasing surface, than in grading only here and there a lot, and having the grounds always in an unfinished state, I would recommend, that in future, the grading of each section be done before it is surveyed and sold. This will save lot holders the expenses of grading, and the Asso- ciation will have the grounds always clean and in order.
Another important item is the fixing of a certain time, in which a vault, tomb, monument, etc., when once begun, should be finished, and none should be permitted to leave stones, timber, etc., used in the erec- tion of monuments, scattered over the grounds, thereby spoiling the grass and shrubbery of the adjoining lots.
In respect to the improvement of individual burial lots, I can state with confidence, that lots not enclosed, are not as much trespassed upon
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as those surrounded with stone posts, iron bars, and chains; for there really seems to be a disposition in the human mind to disregard useless restrictions. Visitors to Spring Grove will have an opportunity to con- vince themselves of the correctness of this statement.
Corner stones of the same material as the monument, with the name of the owner and the number of the lot and section engraved on them, is all that is necessary to indicate the boundaries of each lot, and the sav- ing of money to the owner is very great.
The trees and shrubs could be so arranged as to form a background to the monument, which should always be in or about the center of each lot, in order to place the graves around it, thus saving the expenses of head and foot stones to each grave, and giving a lot more the appearance of what it should be,-a family burial place,-whereas, when filled with head and foot stones, it looks too much as though designed for single interments.
The dispensing with unsightly fences, hedges, head and foot stones, and other useless appendages, will enable lot holders to spend more in a family monument, which would be the admiration of generations to come, and give sculptors a chance to produce something besides the com- mon marble shaft, now rather too numerous at Spring Grove. Too many monuments on one lot give it the appearance of a marble yard, where they are for sale, [as is often remarked by visitors to these grounds. ]
" To render a rural burial place all that it ought to be in the way of monumental beauty, the utmost. care should be taken in the selection and proper variety of its sepulchral devices. An understanding of purely classic forms and a chaste taste will cause an enduring monument to be erected over the grave of a departed friend, and will certainly abstain from a servile imitation of others. But the finest of models and the choicest of materials will avail but little, unless the foundation and erection be made with care. The monument should rest on a bed of concrete and be below the action of frost and the grave-digger. Limited pecuniary means will probably ever be a reason why the majority of the tributes to the departed will be of a simple character and erected at small expense. But good taste is happily not subservient to the power of gold, and should ever be consulted even in the simplest memorial."-( Rural Cem- eteries of America.)
"I have seen," says the venerable Chateaubriand, "memorable mon- uments to Crœsus and Cesar, but I prefer the airy tombs of the Indians, those mausoleums of flowers and verdure refreshed by the morning dew, mbalmed and fanned by the breeze, and over which waves the same
-
JOHN WALKER
BORN CARRON STIRLINGSHIRE SCOTLAND
SEPY . 1.1799.
DIEU CINCINNATI, OHIO
JUNE20.1853.
CEK THE STREET MAN AND SCHELO THE URINOCHTIER
SIGNED NY MIS AFFECTIONATE WIDOW MARION
MRS. WALKER'S
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branch where the blackbird builds his nest, and utters forth his plaintive melody."
There are burial lots in this Cemetery so crowded with trees, shrubs, and flowers, that they actually destroy each other, hide the monument, and leave hardly a place for interment, especially when such a lot is cut up with little walks and filled with the sweepings of the marble yards. Those paths are not only useless, but are also a favorite place for the growth of weeds, and the expenses of keeping them in order are more than lot holders in general are willing to pay, and yet, by right, they should be charged with the exact time devoted to the keeping them clean. In such lots economy and simple beauty is sacrificed, and the result is only an immense mosaic, unfortunately too much the case in many Cem- eteries.
In planting a family burial lot, great care should be taken in the selec- tion of appropriate trees and shrubs. As the monument is the principal object, it is quite natural that it should be shown to the best advantage. I would therefore recommend, for example, the planting of the Norway Spruce for a background to the monument, having in front the Hemlock or White Spruce. Both, properly combined with the silvery foliage of the Bohemian Olive, will produce a fine effect. The Cypress is also a suitable tree on account of its roots not spreading much, and therefore not interfering with the digging of graves. It is also the emblem of immortality, and was planted by the ancients over the graves of their · dead. The Arbor-Vitæ and the Yew are historical trees, and well adap- ted for a burial lot. There are many other varieties, equally suitable, but too numerous to mention.
" A rural Cemetery in the neighborhood of a large city, properly designed, laid out, ornamented with mausoleums, vaults, tombs, columns, vases, urns, etc., tastefully planted with appropriate trees and shrubs, and the whole properly kept, might become a school of instruction in archi- tecture, sculpture, landscape gardening, arboriculture and botany, and in those important parts of general gardening, neatness, order, and high keeping."-( J. C. Loudon. )
" A garden Cemetery and monumental decorations," says the learned and eloquent author of Necropolis Glasguensis, "afford the most convin- cing tokens of a nations progress in civilization, and in the arts which are its result."
We have seen with what pains the most celebrated nations of which history speaks, have adorned their places of sepulture, and it is from their funeral monuments that we gather much that is known of their
5
[ 34 ]
civil progress and their advancement in taste. Is not the history of Egypt written on its pyramids, and is not the chronology of Arabia pic- tured on its tombs ? Is it not on the funeral relics of Greece and Rome, that we behold those elegant images of repose and tender sorrow with which they so happily invested the idea of death ? Is it not on the urns and sarcophagi of Etruria that the lover of the noble art of sepulture still gazes with delight ? And is it not amid the catacombs, the crypts and the calvaries of Italy, that the sculptor and the painter of the dark ages chiefly present the most splendid specimens of their chisel and their pencils. In modern days, also, has it not been at the shrine of death that the highest efforts of the Michael Angelos, the Canovas, the Thor- waldsens, and only recently by our own eminent artist, H. Powers, have been elicited and exhibited ?
The tomb has, in fact, been the great chronicler of taste throughout the world. In the East, from the hoary pyramid to the modern Arab's grave ; in Europe, from the rude tomb of the Druid, to the marble mausoleum of the monarch; and in America, from the grove which the Indian Chief planted round the sepulcher of his son, to the monument which announces to the lovers of freedom, the last resting place of Washington.
" Why," says Washington Irving, "should we thus seek to clothe death with unnecessary terrors, and spread horrors around the tomb of those we love ? The grave should be surrounded with every thing that might insure tenderness and veneration. Can this be done by having burial lots enclosed with stone posts, iron bars, and chains; the sight of which is repulsive in the extreme, as it conveys the idea of rudeness and confine- ment ?"
" The ancients, from their feelings never being aroused by the revolt- ing emblems of mortality and confinement, contemplated death without terrors, and visited its shrine without fear. They knew nothing of sacred enclosures, but they knew of sacred groves of trees; they saw beauty and grandeur in a massive monument, but not in an iron fence around their graves; they knew how to produce variety, but abstained from destroying variety by its excess.
Iron railings around burial lots derogate from the sacredness of the scene, by supposing it possible, that the Cemetery would be visited by per- sons incapable of conducting themselves properly, or that the grounds were pastured by cattle, which, fortunately, is not the case at Spring Grove. Another, and the most important question is : how much will it ulti- mately cost to keep the grounds in proper order, supposing all the lots
٠٠:١
MONUMENT OF A 0.DAY
[ 35]
to be enclosed ? Certainly more than four times the amount requisite to the keeping a Cemetery without enclosures.
The suggestions prescribed above, are made with reference to improv- ing Spring Grove tastefully and economically to individual lot owners, and to the association, as a body. My views are the result of experience and observation, during my travels on the continent of Europe, England and the United States. And when fully sustained by the eminent Authors quoted, I do not hesitate to submit them for your consideration.
Respectfully,
A. STRAUCH,
Landscape Gardener at Spring Grove.
To the Board of Directors of Spring Grove Cemetery :
GENTLEMEN :- In compli- ancu with your request, I beg leave to present the following suggestions for your consideration, as being in my opinion necessary to be adopted at this time, in view of the increased number of lots that are constantly being improved.
FOUNDATIONS OF MONUMENTS, &C.
An examination of the foundations of several monuments, fences, &c., has convinced me that it is highly important that more care should be exercised in their construction than has hitherto been taken ; in fact it is not necessary to examine the foundations themselves to discover the defect alluded to. It is to be seen in many cases by the inclination of the superstructure, and it is certain that in order to preserve the original beauty of any improvement, the foundation is of the first importance. I would, therefore, recommend that they be built by the Cemetery, and of the best material, of suitable size, be laid in good mortar or concrete throughout ; and be of such a depth that they cannot be disturbed by the action of the frost, or any graves which may be made near them.
MONUMENTS.
Which are so constructed as to have vertical joints, are so liable to be disturbed by the frost acting between their joints, and thereby opening them to a considerable extent, which must increase every year, so that in
-
[ 36]
a few years there will nothing remain but a mass of ruins, where the once beautiful improvement stood. It would be well if all proprietors wishing to make permanent improvements would give the subject due consideration.
CASUAL WORKMEN.
It is necessary that those persons contracting to put up vaults, monu- nents, or other improvements, should have only sufficient time allowed them to perform their work. In many instances material is deposited on the lot some months, and in some cases years, before it is used, so that some portion of the grounds are constantly and unnecessarily disfigured by the unsightly appearance of a mass of stone or brick. It would be well if the Superintendent could make an agreement with the persons contracting to erect any improvement on the grounds, specifying the time the same shall be completed, after a portion of the material is brought on the ground.
INTERMENTS ON LOTS.
As few lots are permanently improved before interments are made on them, it is highly important the first step should be rightly taken. I beg leave, therefore, to suggest a few ideas in regard to the mode of interment, with respect to the position of the grave on the lot. I would recommend in all family lots to place the interments so that a monument could be
MONUMENT
erected a little back from the center of the lot, so as to make the inter- ments around it-the Head of the Family should occupy the front of the monument, and be placed with the head close to it, as shown by the accompanying sketch. By arranging the graves in this manner eight interments can be made ; and the names placed on the monument, just above their respective graves.
GRANDIN
GRANDIN FAMILY MONUMENT. Dy CHA RUTE ,
[ 37 ]
The expense of a monument, suitable for a family, might be urged by some as a reason for using headstones, but when we consider that a monu- ment of this description will answer in the place of eight headstones, I think we should find the monument would in the end be the cheapest, and stand as a memorial when all the small headstones had crumbled into dust, or owing to their insecure and small foundation, be found in an oblique, or even horizontal, instead of their original perpendicular position. A glance at a number now erected on these grounds will convince any one of the truth of the remark, and also of the necessity of something more permanent.
By adopting the method recommended, the ground is used more econ- omically, and sufficient room is left to beautify the lot with appropriate shrubs and flowers, which will make a most lively contrast with the white marble monuments : and by the proper arrangement in planting, fresh scenery will constantly be presenting itself to the view of the visitor. As he walks over the beautiful green grass he will see the stately monu- ments, towering in front of the deep green foliage, which brings forth more prominently the objects of admiration which he is contemplating, and at the same time hides all others from view-thus constantly pre- senting some new objects not before noticed, which again calls forth his admiration. At every turn the eye is arrested by the tender proof of some late friendly visitation ; flowers as yet fresh and unfaded are seen scattered over the not yet verdant sod. The green-house myrtle flour- ishes in the parterre dedicated to affection and love ; the chaste forget-me- not blooms over the ashes of a faithful friend ; the green laurel shades the cenotaph of the hero, and the drooping willow planted by the hand of the orphan weeps over the grave of the parent-how sublime to con- template one after another such mementoes of affection !
The emotions would be far different, were the same objects to be viewed in one glance, especially if the ground should be thickly studded with the small headstones, posts, and chains, and iron fences, many of them as tall as the surrounding monuments, which forms no pleasing contrast, and not only gives to the scenery a monotonous appearance, but all its grandeur is sacrificed.
"Nothing can make amends," says Coleridge, " for the want of the soothing influences of nature, and for the absence of those types of reno- vation and decay, which the fields and the woods offer to the notice of the serious and contemplative mind. To feel the force of this sentiment, let a man only compare in imagination the unsightly manner in which our monuments are crowded together in the busy, noisy, unclean,
[ 38 ]
and almost grassless church-yard of a large town, with the still seclusion of a rural Cemetery, in some remote place, and yet further sanctified by the grove of cypress in which it is embosomed."
" Let us be careful, however, in our anxiety to escape from gloom and horror, not to run into the opposite extreme of meritricious gaudiness. Death and the grave are solemn and awful realities; they speak with a powerful and intelligible voice to the heart of every spectator, as being the common lot of all. To say nothing of the bad taste, therefore, any- thing obtrusively picturesque, anything savoring of fashionable pretti- ness, any far-fetched conceits, or tortured allegories, jar upon the feelings of every well-regulated mind, and excite ideas the very opposite to those of sympathy and tenderness. Our Cemeteries then should bear a solemn and soothing character, equally remote from fanatical gloom and conceited affectation."-( Picton. )
INTERMENTS IN VAULTS.
The reflections which naturally suggest themselves in contemplating the wrecks of humanity which have occasionally been brought to light, are such as to lead us to ask-Of what possible use is a resistance to the laws of nature, which, when most successfully executed, can at best only preserve a defaced and degraded image of what was once perfect and beautiful ? Could we by any means arrest the progress of decay, so as to gather round us the dead of a hundred generations in a visible and tangible shape-could we fill our houses and our streets with mummies, what possible acquisition could be more useless-what custom could be more revolting ? For precisely the same reason, the subterranean vaults and the walls of brick which we construct to divide the clay of humanity from that of the rest of creation, and to preserve it separate for a time, as it were, for future inspection, are neither useful, gratifying, nor ulti- mately effectual. Could the individuals themselves, who are to be the subjects of this care, have power to regulate the officious zeal of their survivors, one of the last things they could reasonably desire, would be that the light should ever shine on their changed and crumbling relics.
" On the other hand, when nature is permitted to take her course- when the dead are committed to the earth under the open sky, to become early and peacefully blended with their original dust, no unpleasant asso- ciation remains. It would seem as if the forbidding and repulsive con- ditions which attend on decay were merged and lost in the surrounding harmonies of creation."-( Rural Cemeteries of America.)
THIS MONUMENT
MERINIAL CE FACIAL AFFMOTS
1 STENTHE TRAVE
SELINDA AROSHON
MAS GROSHON
GRA NATIVE OF CHOLUND
FORMERLY
AT GINCANATI
MAIDEN MAME
BELINDA POOLE:
-TIR AMERICAN SIMGE GF WHICH
MRS. BELINDA GROSHON'S MONUMENT.
U
[ 39 ]
REGISTER OF INTERMENTS.
Orders are frequently sent out to the Cemetery desiring that graves should be opened adjoining or near the graves of persons previously interred, where the graves are not designated by stones or otherwise. It is impossible to comply with the directions given. I have, therefore, adopted a register, showing at a glance the name of the deceased, on whose lot interred, the number of lot and section, and also the exact pos- ition of the grave on the lot, which register is kept at the Cemetery, and is an interesting and useful record for future reference.
More than one interment, should never be made in the same Grave, unless at a great depth from the surface.
Mr. Walker, the author of the Modern Grave-Yards, observes, that "lay - ers of earth of several feet in depth can no more intercept the transmis- sion of gas into the atmosphere, than they can by their density prevent the infiltration of water. Then, indeed, if more than one coffin were allowed to be put in a single grave, and be as close as three or even four feet to the surface of the ground, it might be considered the crater of a volcano vomiting forth poison in the form of a column of gaseous mat- ter, which changing in direction with every change of the wind, would poison the atmosphere for many miles around, while the water of decom- position would poison the springs of the subsoil."
GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS.
With respect to the general improvement of lots, I am much gratified to be able to state, that the new mode of improving, without fencing, as suggested by our able Landscape Gardener, is now certainly appreciated by those wishing to improve their lots in strict harmony with the require- ments of a rural Cemetery ; and I am happy to see the prospect of a speedy change in the general taste of improvement in this particular. It must be gratifying to those who are anxious to dispense with the gloomy enclosures, to know that in the four months just past sixty lots have been sold, not one of which, I believe, will be disfigured by either stone, iron, or hedge fences, but will have neat corner stones to designate their boun- daries, and be planted with appropriate trees and shrubs.
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