Now, let us compare the cost of burial with that of incineration. As I have mentioned before, there is an immense saving of valuable land when cremation is adopted. Millions of acres now uncultivated, and simply used for burial to the detriment of the living, would be changed into food-bearing land and furnish additional means for the maintenance of the people. A crematory connected with an urn-hall would not occupy more space than 360 to 400 square feet, and would last for centuries. There would also be a diminution of funeral expenses. The average expense of cremation in the United States is $25. Contrast this with the ordinary funeral expense, and you will agree with me when I assert that the present waste of money for burials is as enormous as it is unnecessary. Some author has said justly that the difference in expense would often equal one-half the proceeds of a life insurance policy. It is plain that the expense of the burning of single bodies will be very much _reduced_ by the general use of the system. The annual expense for the cremation of 7000 bodies in Bombay, India, amounts to $15,000 only, which is but $2.50 for each corpse. The cost of incineration in our own country has varied. It is, of course, impossible to estimate the expense of the earlier cremations. The furnace at Washington, Pa., was erected for the use of Dr. Le Moyne only, and those of his friends who concurred with him in this reform. The public at one time believed that this furnace had been built for its accommodation, and that the owner followed cremation as a business, and charged fees for the use of his crematory. During the lifetime of the doctor no fee whatever was charged for incineration in his furnace. After his death the trustees of the crematorium were obliged to charge the moderate sum of $45 to compensate them for their time and trouble. This included all expenses after the body reached the railway station at Washington,—a hearse, carriage, and box to contain the remains, as well as fuel, attendance, etc. The building at Washington was put up at the least possible expense (as economy was one of Dr. Le Moyne’s principal arguments), and cost in all about $1500. Compare this expenditure with that of purchasing a cemetery, not taking into consideration the improvements which must be made on a graveyard before it can be opened to the public. It will prove interesting to consider the present state of the cremation question, and to note the progress which the reform has thus far made in various countries of the civilized world. Incineration is making great headway in Europe. In Germany, societies were organized at Coeln, Hainichen, Bonn, Frankfort on the Main, Potsdam, Liegnitz, Chemnitz, Heidelberg, Elberfeld, Eger, Breslau, Nordhausen, Rheda, Kollberg, Bremen, and Schleswig.