The furnace erected at Lancaster, Pa., is on a new system, which was devised by Dr. M. L. Davis. The cost of the crematorium was about $5000. The building is beautifully located upon a bluff overlooking the Conestoga River. The grounds occupy two and one-half acres. The crematory is of gothic architecture, 48 × 32 feet, and contains four rooms,—the audience room or chapel, toilet, reception, and furnace room. The chapel is used for religious services, the toilet room for the accommodation of relatives and friends accompanying the body, the reception room to receive the body and prepare it for incineration; all of the apparatus is located in the furnace room, except the retort doors, which face the auditorium. The firing is done in the rear of the furnace, where all tools and miscellaneous articles are kept. The floor of the auditorium is made of Portland cement; the other parts of the building are floored with brick. The audience room is furnished with chairs and a table for the use of ministers or the officers of societies having charge of the ceremonies at cremation; the walls are decorated with pictures and urns of various designs. The waiting or toilet room is provided with chairs, lounges, toilet-stand, etc., for the comfort of the waiting friends. The grounds consist of a plot of two acres, one-half of which is level—here the building is located; the other is a hillside of solid limestone rock—here the society intends erecting columbaria at an early day. The grounds around the building are beautified by roadways, walks, trees, shrubbery, etc.

The furnace invented by Dr. Davis is made of firebricks and tiles. The outside dimensions are 10 ft. 6 in. long, by 6 ft. 6 in. wide, with 9-in. walls of brick. The furnace rests on a foundation 10 ft. 6 in. by 7 ft. 6 in. and 2 ft. 6 in. deep, of good building stone, with mortar of sharp sand and quicklime or equally suitable material, finished level with the floor of the building. At the rear end the center is occupied by the fire chamber (F) 18 in. wide, 48 in. long, 3 ft. 9 in. high to arch, lined with fire-brick 9 inches thick and roofed with an arched fire-clay tile 4 in. thick, covered by 3-in. shield tile. The iron doors (fire and ash) are furnished with frames, the fire-door is protected by a lining of asbestos and fire-clay; the grate-rest is 1 ft. 3 in. from the floor; beneath the grate are two iron pipes (1½ in.) at the sides, to carry heated air to supply oxygen to the flues (at O); a third iron pipe (⅝ in.) passing to the rear of the fire chamber and up through its back wall to the retort (at P); a fourth pipe (3-in. diameter) leading from the top of the rear end of the retort (at M) down through the rear wall and opening in the ash chamber under the grate-bars (at N), to carry off the surplus gases not consumed in the retort. The air-supply pipes are required to keep up rapid combustion by replacing the oxygen already used, and so to equalize the heat at both ends of the retort. The air-pipes leading into the retort so assists the disintegration of the body in the same way, supplying additional oxygen and making oxidation more rapid. The retort is 9 ft. 9 in. long, 3 ft. wide, and 2 ft. high in the clear; it is floored with 3-in. fire-clay tile in sections; the sides are of 3-in tile, also in sections; the roof is of the same material arched in sections. The retort is made in sections rather than in one single piece, in order to make allowance at the several joints for the great expansion and contraction incident to a heat of 2000 to 2500 degrees, thus avoiding the annoyance and expense of cracks and patching. The retort is supported by the arched roof of the fire chamber and its covering of shield tile, and back of the fire chamber by fire-clay pillars, and at the sides by projections of the tile partitions between the flues. Six pairs of flues surround the retort, 15 and 13½ inches wide respectively, and 3 in. deep, separated by tile partitions 3 in. thick. The gases from the fire chamber enter the first pair through curved openings (QQ) and pass up through AA down through BB (receiving additional oxygen at O), and up again through CC, and through the escape-flue S, into the chimney. The outside facing of the flues is 3-in. tile. Between the outside facing of the flues and the 9-in. brick wall is a space of 3 inches which is packed with asbestos to prevent radiation of heat and allow for lateral expansion and contraction of the outer casing of the flues, giving it much longer life. Above the fire space on the top of the retort, which is 4 inches deep, is an arch of 9-in. fire-brick, above which ashes and sand are filled in to the depth of 6 inches above the top of the arch, and floored over with red brick. The retort door is lined with asbestos and fire-clay; it is made of steel plate, closing against a flanged iron frame, and held to its place by a spider, upon which is screwed down an arm swinging with the door and fastening to the frame; the frame is held to its place by two horizontal bars, walled in at the ends. This arrangement secures a tight joint when the door is closed; the stay-bars hold the frame, the bar holds the door to the frame and gives the fulcrum for pressure on the spider, while swinging with the door it is out of the way when not in use. The whole structure is protected by three buckstays of T iron on each side, securely joined by ¾-inch iron rods, furnished with nuts to allow tightening or loosening when necessary. The fire-brick escape-flue connects with the chimney; the dimensions are 16 × 14 inches in the clear; the chimney rests on sills of T iron, supported by brick pillars, and is lined with fire-brick for 6 feet above the retort, and is carried up to a total height of 30 feet.

I have given so minute a description of this apparatus because it is an invention of which not only Dr. M. L. Davis, but his countrymen with him, may feel justly proud. It is the first cremation furnace that possesses the two cardinal requirements of a good incinerator; namely, cheapness and usefulness. The price of this apparatus is from $1200 to $1500; the European furnaces cost $3000 and more. The Davis furnace, moreover, uses less fuel than the European apparatus, whereby the expense of cremation is much decreased. Ordinarily, coke and hard or “steamboat” coal is used in this furnace, although (and this is an additional advantage) gas, oil, or any other heating material may be used. The quantity required varies somewhat, but the average amount necessary to heat the furnace and incinerate a body is 250 pounds of coke and 250 pounds of coal, or about one-fourth ton of fuel. The time occupied for complete incineration varies according to the condition of the body, but ranges from 45 minutes to one hour and a half. The furnace can be heated in six hours, but usually more time is occupied in heating, as there is less liability of injury to the furnace by rapid expansion.

When the Davis furnace is used, the process is as follows: The catafalque, bearing the crib which is covered with a cloth 15 feet long, wet with alum water, is placed by the side of the casket containing the body, the lid of which is removed and strips of muslin are passed under it. The ends of the bands are attached to an elevator, and the body is gently raised up and placed upon the alum-sheet-covered crib, the free end being covered over, thus entirely enveloping it. This procedure is necessary to prevent the clothing in which the corpse is dressed from igniting. All being in readiness, the catafalque, on noiseless casters, is placed in front of the retort. A cable is then attached to the crib, the retort door is opened, a signal is given, and the catafalque with its burden gently approaches the open retort; when near, it stops, and noiselessly the corpse is moved into the retort, impelled, as it were, by an unseen agency. When it is in the proper position, a signal is given, the machinery in the rear and out of sight stops, the door is closed air-tight, and the mechanical process gives way to the chemical.

When the retort is opened, the cold air rushing in, the cold body, crib, and alum-sheet chill for a few moments the inner surface of the retort; in a few moments the retort regains its heat; a fine mist commences to arise from the body, which gradually becomes thicker and more dense, until the inside of the retort has the appearance of dense white mist. The idea of fine snow or fog is suggested. This appearance remains until the soft tissues are reduced to ashes. Then the interior of the retort gradually becomes more clear. The alum-sheet will be seen to be in the same position as when put in; perhaps slightly sunken. A blue flame will be seen arising through the sheet; about six inches above the body it becomes extinguished. This continues until the bony structure is completely cremated, when all is white as snow, and nothing can be seen inside the retort, the ashes having fallen through the crib and the alum-cloth collapsed. The oxygen by the intense heat has been made to unite with the carbonaceous elements of the body, and the resulting carbonic acid gas, ammonia, and water are driven off through the retort walls into and through the flues to the air without, where they mingle with the elements of nature. In the retort are the ashes, consisting of pure oxide of lime.

It is plain from the above that the corpse does not come in contact with the flames, that is, the fire, in this apparatus. There is no burning. The body is simply oxidized, and the union of the oxygen and the organic matter composing the body is so complete that what nature has so perfectly formed in life appears to gently, quietly melt away in death, and becomes resolved into its original elements.

The record of the Davis furnace has been so far entirely satisfactory. The Lancaster crematorium contains two of these furnaces. This crematory has no smokestack; that is, the chimney reaches but several inches above the roof of the building.

On Nov. 23, 1885, Prof. T. R. Baker, Ph.D., of the Millersville State Normal School, collected 30 jars of gases from the escape-flue of the Lancaster crematorium, with a view of analyzing them, to ascertain the nature of the products of combustion of the human body during incineration. Many persons have contended that poisonous gases are given off, thereby polluting the air; and it was with a view of clearing up this phase of the subject that the experiment was undertaken. The apparatus used to collect the gases consisted of an iron gas-pipe, five feet being bent two feet from one end at right angles. The long end was passed down the escape-flue from the furnace. To the other end was attached a glass tube, which ran to a U-tube surrounded with ice, to condense vapors. The gas was collected in a jar. Fifteen jars were thus collected before the body was introduced into the retort, and 15 at various stages of the incineration. The body was that of a man who had died from dropsy. Below will be found Dr. Baker’s report.

State Normal School,

Millersville, Pa., Dec. 7, 1885.