lime heaped upon the corpses, and finally had bundles of hay, previously saturated with kerosene, thrown burning into the pit. Creteur declares that from 200 to 300 bodies were consumed within 50 to 60 minutes. The smoke, impregnated with the smell of the carbolic acid that was formed by the combination of the chloride of lime and coal tar, was not offensive, and proved entirely harmless to the workmen. About one-fourth of all the contents remained in the pits, consisting of calcined bones and a dry mass. These were again covered with chloride of lime, and then the trenches were closed. In this way, 45,855 human and equine bodies were disposed of. [Illustration: THE MILAN CINERARIUM.] Incineration in war-time should be obligatory—must be so in fact. At present, cremation in portable furnaces is out of the question, because it would take too long. Only the bodies of prominent officers might be thus cremated and sent to the rear, so that they might rest under a monument erected by the grateful people of the country that they served. Under the existing circumstances, I think Creteur’s method would be the best. By this means, several hundred bodies could be destroyed at once. There ought to be a cremation corps in every division of an army. Better yet it would be to organize a neutral society, like the Red Cross Association, and call it the Society of the Black Cross. The members might wear a black cross on their caps and on the left arm. After a battle, the various corps of this society would begin their work, gathering the dead and committing them to the flames. Thus we would protect our brave soldiers, who offer up their lives for their beloved country and our sake, from pestilence and disease. CHAPTER IV. 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.