We do not read every day about the horticultural features of a cemetery. But there is often more to admire than marble, slate and monuments. Particularly is this the case with West Laurel Hill Cemetery, which is situated on a natural eminence, bounded by two railroads in a triangular manner; on the west by the Reading main line and south by the Schuylkill Valley, and is about ten minutes' walk from the Philadelphia county line.

Living near this place for the last five years, I often take a stroll through on a Sunday afternoon, where I find hundreds of others. It is visited by thousands of people during the summer months. I think this cemetery deserves to be classed among the finest and best laid out of any in this part of the country. There are a great number of once prominent people of Philadelphia buried there, as the names on the tombstones testify. I am surprised to see the number of bedding and other plants used on some of the lots. To say there are thousands is to speak moderately. One lot which took my particular attention, and which is worthy of special notice, seemed worth going some distance to see. I have the authority of Mr. John Albrecht, florist of West Laurel Hill, who supplied the plants this year and set them, that he used some four thousand plants. There are fine carpet beds of different designs, two of them Maltese crosses, and one an anchor, which looks very beautiful. The plants used are Alter-nantheras of different varieties and two kinds of Echeverias. There are two beds of Euonymus in variety. The whole is surrounded with a border 4 feet wide, full of roses and other plants.

The size of the lot is 42x64 feet, and is owned by W. V. Lippincott, of Philadelphia. Mr. John Albrecht deserves great credit for the efficient manner in which he has done his work. He now has charge of the lot, and about one hundred others of smaller degree. I do not think there is a lot in this cemetery without flowers of some kind, and the place is kept in remarkably good order. There are about fourteen men employed, all under the superintendence of Mr. F. S. Britton.

There are some fine large flower beds of various designs, laid out by the cemetery company. One bed I noticed, in the shape of an anchor on the slope of a hill, is very effective. It contains Geraniums, Coleus and Centaureas, with an edging of Golden Feather. I suppose this bed contains two thousand plants. There is a station at West Laurel Hill, about fifteen minutes' ride from Broad Street, Philadelphia, and the first thing that strikes your eye on alighting is a very peculiarly designed bed of flowers, about 60 feet long, something in the shape of a tennis bat, containing Geraniums, Centaureas and two kinds of Coleus - I suppose about two thousand plants in all. It is laid out by the cemetery company, and the plants supplied by Mr. John Albrecht, who has recently started a very successful florist's business near here, and who tells me there is an increasing demand for all kinds of flowers in the neighborhood. Gardener to Mr. A. S. Roberts, Pencoyd, Pa.