THE PROCESS OF MODERN CREMATION.
In beginning the consideration of the various processes of cremation, I
ought to speak of the ancient pyre first; but since it was fully
described in a previous chapter, I deem it best to dismiss it with this
passing notice. I will remark, however, that were the introduction of
cremation attempted with a view to the use of this barbarous mode, that
is, if there were no alternative but to burn the dead in the
old-fashioned way, I would not be the advocate of incineration; for the
method of antiquity was not only obnoxious to the senses, but almost as
dangerous to the living as burial in the earth.
It would take up too much space and would, moreover, be entirely useless
to describe in detail the numerous European cremation apparatuses, of
which those of Siemens, Brunetti, and Gorini are best known. The trouble
with these furnaces is, that (1) the apparatus costs too much; (2) the
process of cremation, when they are employed, is too expensive.
Therefore I will confine myself to a description of the cremation
furnaces used in America.
The crematory at Washington, Pa., is a small, plain, brick building,
containing but two rooms,—furnace and reception room. The retort is
exactly similar to the ones used in making gas, and, indeed, the whole
process is the same.
The Washington crematory is one story high, 30 feet long, 20 feet wide.
The reception room is 20 feet square, including walls, and the furnace
room 20 feet by 10 feet, including walls. Cremation is performed in a
fire-clay cylinder or retort, called the incinerator, which is three
feet in diameter by seven feet long, and the walls of which are from one
to two inches thick. The retort is like those used in the manufacture of
illuminating gas, but somewhat of a different shape. It is heated to a
red heat by a furnace fire which is built underneath and kept burning
for 20 or 30 hours before the cremation is to take place. The body is
placed in an iron crib made in the shape of a coffin, with small, round
rods, with feet three or four inches long to keep it up off the bottom
of the retort. These feet are inserted into a flat strip of iron two
inches wide and a quarter inch thick, turned up at the ends so that the
crib with the body will slide into the retort easily. In addition to the
ordinary burial garments, the body is covered with a cloth wet with a
saturated solution of sulphate of alum (common alum), which even when
burned, retains its form and prevents any part of the corpse from being
seen until the bony skeleton begins to crumble down. The incinerator
receives to itself the intense heat of the fire below, but does not
admit the flames. The consequence is that the corpse, when introduced
into the retort, is not, in a proper sense of the word, burned. It is
reduced to ashes by the chemical application of intense heat. Gases are
driven off or absorbed, and, being carried down into the fire from the
incinerator and led back and forth 25 feet through its flames, are
utterly consumed. Even the smoke of the fire is consumed, and nothing
can be seen issuing from the chimney but the quiver of the heat. The
process might be called, says an eye-witness of a cremation in this
furnace, the spiritualization of the body, the etherealization or
sublimation of its material parts. The time required to complete the
operation is about two hours. A very small portion of the remains is
ashes, but the mass is in the form of calcined bones in small fragments,
very white, odorless, entirely deprived of all animal matter, and may be
preserved any length of time without change.
There are four to seven pounds of these remains from various sized adult
bodies, and can be placed for preservation in a marble or terra-cotta
urn, into which a photograph of the deceased, with appropriate record,
can be placed before introducing the remains. This urn can be placed in
the columbarium of the crematory, kept among the cherished memorials of
the family of the departed, or placed beside other remains previously
buried in cemeteries or graveyards.
Dr. Le Moyne favored placing the remains of the dead in a one-gallon
salt-mouthed druggist’s bottle, with a large ground stopper. After his
death, however, the bottle-urn idea proved impracticable, therefore the
ashes were generally placed in a sealed tin box.
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.
DR. M. L. DAVIS:—
_Dear Sir_: I have completed the examination of the gaseous
products recently obtained from the chimney of the Lancaster
crematorium, and will now report the results of my investigation.
The escaping products were tested at the crematorium for water and
for gases readily soluble in water, and several bottles of these
products were collected before the body was put in the retort, as
well as during the cremation.
Water, etc., were tested for by passing several gallons of the
escaping products through the U condensation tubes, surrounded by
ice, and then through distilled water. The estimated amount of
water in the products escaping before the body was put in the
retort was .0011 of a cubic inch to the gallon, while during the
cremation it was .0044 of a cubic inch to a gallon.
The water through which the gases were passed, both that used
before the body was put in the retort and that used during the
cremation, had a distinct acid reaction, quickly reddening blue
litmus paper. I could not, however, detect any difference in the
degree of acidity of the waters, and their reaction did not
indicate that the gases which had passed through them were more
acid than the gaseous products passing off from ordinary coal
fires. The waters were found to contain traces of the mineral
acids generally found in very small quantities in the products of
the combustion of mineral coal. They gave no reaction for salts of
ammonia, nor for sulphuretted hydrogen.
The gases collected for laboratory examination were tested
especially for carbonic acid (CO_{2}), illuminating gas, oxygen
(O), carbonic oxide (CO), and nitrogen (N).
The method of examination employed was that generally followed in
gas analysis, namely, the absorption of the gases by liquid
reagents. Carbonic acid was absorbed by potassium hydrate;
illuminants by bromine; oxygen by phosphorus; and carbonic oxide
by cuprous chloride dissolved in hydrochloric acid.
The estimated amounts of the gases enumerated above are as
follows, the values indicating the parts of a cubic inch to the
gallon; the estimated water being also included in the table:—
┌─────────────────┬──────┬──────┬────────────┬─────┬─────┬────┐
│ │H_{2}O│CO_{2}│Illuminating│ O │ CO │ N │
│ │ │ │ Gas. │ │ │ │
├─────────────────┼──────┼──────┼────────────┼─────┼─────┼────┤
│Before Cremation,│ .0011│.00080│ .000│.0080│.0000│.016│
│During Cremation,│ .0044│.00091│ .012│.0065│.0017│.015│
└─────────────────┴──────┴──────┴────────────┴─────┴─────┴────┘
It will be seen by a comparison of these results that the gaseous
products of ordinary coal combustion are modified to only an
inconsiderable extent by matter passing through the walls of the
cremation retort. Illuminating gas is a variable mixture of
hydrogen, marsh gas, olefiant gas, and other gases, and is
entirely harmless when produced in the small quantities indicated
in the table, and so thoroughly distributed through the air. That
so much free oxygen passes off with the escaping products is an
indication of the thoroughness of the combustion, and the complete
oxidation of the oxidizable products.
In conclusion, I would say that not any of the many and various
tests, either at the crematorium or in my laboratory, of the
products under consideration, indicated the presence of anything
that would pollute the air. The burning of the body produces no
material difference in the gases escaping from the chimney. The
volume of the chimney products did not seem to be increased by the
burning of the body, and the products had precisely the same odor
during cremation that they had before the body was put in the
retort.
I might add that I also made a test of the temperature of the
products issuing from the chimney, and found it to be about 300°
F. This is surprisingly low, considering the high temperature of
the retort (2500° to 2800° F.), and indicates a most excellently
designed furnace, utilizing as it does so large a percentage of
the heat. About one-fourth of the heat of boiler furnaces goes up
the chimney.
The process of cremation invented by Joseph Venini, of Milan, Italy, is
used in the crematorium of Buffalo, N. Y. The process consists of two
parts: first, the generation of gas; and second, the cremation proper.
The apparatus is constructed with a gas generator (A), which is a simple
fire-pot about four feet in a vertical measurement and two laterally,
and is located in the basement of the crematory. The air for combustion
is admitted through a grate in the bottom, and is not sufficient to
allow of the combustion of the entire mass of small wood which is heaped
on the fire. The result is that the fire at the bottom distils the wood
at the top, and the gases of distillation and combustion of wood are
carried to the back end of the incinerating chamber (B), which is on the
main floor. Here these gases are met by air heated in a chamber (C)
outside of the furnace, where the two are ignited by a fire (D) which is
kept burning just under their point of union. The Bunsen flame (E) thus
produced is thrown quite across the incinerating chamber; thence it is
carried back beneath the retort by the flue (F) into the basement to a
chimney, which is about 40 feet high, and so to the open air. A certain
amount of gas is also burned in the flue (F) beneath the incinerating
retort and also at the bottom of the chimney. It will be seen from this
description the Bunsen burners play directly upon the subject, and by
their heat liberate the gases of the body, which gases, being burned in
the retort, are carried into the flue beneath; here another Bunsen flame
(H) ignites such combustible material as has not been consumed in the
retort, and at the foot of the chimney the third Bunsen burner, which is
not represented in the illustration, finishes the combustion. To heat
the apparatus requires an hour and a quarter, and when the temperature
is 2500° to 3000° F., the body is placed in the furnace, and in about an
hour is cremated. The amount of fuel used is little more than half a
cord of wood, or its equivalent.
The furnace which will be used at the Cincinnati crematorium is on a
novel system devised by Mr. M. R. Conway. After the fire is lighted,
steam is generated by means of pipes situated in the flues; this steam
passes up through the center wall of the furnace and is distributed over
the incandescent coke. In its passage it gathers air enough to supply
the required oxygen. It also brings with it the gases generated from the
body being incinerated, and all these gases are regenerated into an
intense heat in the combustion chamber; making a perfectly odorless
furnace.
I quote from a pamphlet written by an “eye-witness” of cremation, who
had before looked upon it with repugnance, but who on witnessing it
became a most earnest advocate:—
“A furnace fire is built and kept burning for 20 or 30 hours before the
cremation is to take place. Immediately above the fire is placed in a
horizontal position a cylinder of clay called the incinerator, three
feet in diameter by seven feet long. This fire-clay incinerator, the
walls of which are from one to two inches thick, receives to itself the
intense heat of the fire below, but does not admit the flames. The
consequence is that the body, when placed in the incinerator, is not, in
a proper sense of the word, burned. It is reduced to ashes by the
chemical application of intense heat. Gases are driven off or absorbed,
and being carried down into the fire from the incinerator and led back
and forth 25 feet through its flames, are utterly consumed. Even the
smoke of the fire is consumed, and nothing can be seen issuing from the
chimney but the quiver of the heat. The process might be called, as we
have said, the spiritualization of the body, the etherealization or
sublimation of its material parts.
“When the incinerator has been raised to a white heat, it is ready for
the reception of the remains. As the cover is removed from its mouth,
the in-rushing air cools it from a white to a red heat, and the whole
inner surface is filled with a beautiful rosy light which is fascinating
to the eye. It looks like the blush of dawn upon the sky, or like the
exquisite tints which sometimes flicker along the aurora borealis. There
is nothing repulsive about it, and nothing, as has been said, to suggest
the idea of fire except the intense heat.
“The body, being decently clad for burial and tenderly laid in the crib
provided for the purpose, is wholly covered with a clean, white sheet
which has been dipped in a solution of alum. The effect of this is to
entirely prevent smoke or fumes or flame, which would otherwise arise
from putting anything inflammable into the midst of such a heat; but,
under its protection, even the extraordinary heat of the incinerator
does not produce upon the body the appearance of scorching or smoking or
anything of the sort. There is no such impression as that of burning
made upon the eye. The sheet, saturated with alum, retains its original
position over the crib, and conceals the entire form until nothing but
the bones are left; and when the eye first rests upon the remains after
they are left in the rosy light of the cylinder, it sees nothing but
these bones gently crumbling away into dust under the mystic touch of an
invisible agent, whose only appearance to the eye is like the tremor of
the northern lights in the sky; or, more exactly, the radiation of heat
from the earth beneath the summer’s sun.
“You have laid a white-robed form within the rosy cylinder, and have
turned away to think with gratitude that all is well. You have let your
imagination dwell lovingly upon the pleasing sentiment that whatever may
be left—beside the calcined bones, most pure and clean—has gone to
mingle with the upper air and dwell with sunshine, birds, and flowers.
The darkness and the dampness of the earth have been escaped, and so
have the perils of grave-snatching, the indecencies of a possible
dissecting-room, and the nameless horrors of putrefaction. You have
pleasant memories to cherish of the ‘last sad hour,’ which, instead of
‘breathless darkness’ and the ‘narrow house’ and the dreadful thud of
falling earth upon the coffin, presents to mind a lovely bed of rosy
light, and a peaceful form clad in virgin purity resting within its soft
embrace. If a lily had been laid upon a bed of pinks or roses, in the
summer, and you had seen its fragrance and its beauty all exhale amid
the shimmering beams or radiated heat beneath the touch of some
invisible and gentle agency, you would have had a not dissimilar
experience. And this is neither painful to the eye, nor distressing to
the sensibilities, nor ungrateful to the memory.”
The following beautiful description of a cremation of the future is from
the _Modern Age_ for January, 1884, a journal which, alas! was
discontinued for lack of support:—
“It is not a disagreeable journey on which we now propose to take our
readers. It is to witness the final disposition of a friend’s remains in
the ideal crematory of the future—science having already perfected the
mechanical appliances necessary in conducting it in the way we describe.
Our friend has died, and through the usual announcements we learn that
the last rites will be performed in the columbarium at a given hour.
Repairing thither at the appointed time, we first pass through a grove
of stately trees, the soothing murmur of whose rustling leaves brings
peace and quiet into the hearts of those who mourn and gather to pay the
last tribute. Within the grove stands a massive building of gray masonry
whose architecture shows no striving after ornamental effect, and whose
solid proportions give a sense of eternal permanency. A few small
windows in a simple frieze which crowns its walls do not destroy this
effect, and their plain stained glass clashes in nowise with the harmony
of color between the sky, the trees, and the gray stone of the temple of
rest. About the Doric pillars of its portico green vines twine fondly as
if they, too, would do their share in robbing death of all its
hideousness. To this place loving hands have borne the body of our
friend. No coffin lends its horror to the journey from this earthly home
to here, where eternal sleep awaits him. A flower-strewn bier gives
poetic carriage for this short and final journey. Entering the broad
portal, the soft, deep notes of an organ charm the ear. The eye takes in
a most imposing sight. The entire interior of the building is one
impressive room, with walls, floor, ceiling, all of white and spotless
marble. The view is not a dazzling one, for the light is subdued and
comes in varied color through the windows at the top. On either side of
the chamber stand a few memorial statues,—real works of art,—each one of
them keeping alive the memory of some one who in his life was either
good or great. Many of the marble slabs in the sides and floor of the
temple bear in plain, sunken letters, a name and two dates. Behind or
beneath them are niches containing urns where rest the pure white ashes
of the beloved dead. On a simple dais in the middle of the room lays the
body of our beloved friend. The hour has come, and about it are gathered
those who knew and loved him while he lived. The scene, the
surroundings, the subdued music of the organ, the absence of everything
to jar upon the taste or senses, brings on a mood of solemn
contemplation. No thought of physical corruption jars upon our memories
of the dead. The opening words of the speaker are said, a hidden choir
harmoniously chants of hope and life, and now the end has come. With the
words ‘ashes to ashes’ a white pall is thrown over the dais, and we have
looked upon our friend for the last time. The dais noiselessly sinks
from sight, a short hour is spent in listening to a funeral oration, or
in contemplation, until the dais, still covered with the pall, rises
from below. The pall removed, we see upon the dais an urn—provided
beforehand, and containing the ashes of our friend. This is now sealed
into one of the niches, and the ceremony is over. This is not pure
imagination. Modern invention has now robbed incineration of all its
objectionable features. Never till of late years could the world well
and simply solve the problem of what to do with its dead. The whole
process is carried on as we have pictured, and without a single
revolting feature in any part of it.”