Floral Arrangement in Japan 
over a slow fire; and a rag is wrapped 
around the part to prevent splintering. A 
dip in cold water after the bending restores 
rigidity and thus makes the curves permanent. 
Various means are also used to extend the 
life of the cut flowers. Stems without knots 
have their ends either charred or plunged 
into boiling water, which contains a little 
sulphur or arsenic. Charring is never used 
in the summer time, and some masters of 
the craft always mash the ends of cuttings. 
All cuttings should be made at dawn or 
dusk, except in the coldest season; and 
should be kept in a cool, damp place, unless 
manipulated at once. In hot weather the cut¬ 
tings are immediately treated to a bath, but 
in a moderate temperature are only sprinkled. 
Persons not inclined to venture on ike- 
bana without special training may adopt 
a modicum of it by use of a leaden holder 
in any vessel, be it shallow or deep. To 
make the holder, cut from sheet lead, one-six¬ 
teenth of an inch thick, a strip twelve inches 
long and one and a quarter wide, and bend 
it breadthwise backwards and forwards so 
as to form some eight or nine loops, in which 
the stems of flowers can be loosely held. By 
this simple means a few choice flowers or 
leaf-sprays can be composed into a group for 
line or color or both. The combinations 
possible are, of course, endless, and the delight 
derivable therefrom proportionately varied. 
The Japanese often lay flowers and imple¬ 
ments before a guest and invite him to try 
his skill at ike-bana\ and by us also the grace¬ 
ful art might well be made a subject of dis¬ 
cussion and friendly competition. 
The illustrations used in this article are 
from Couder’s classic volume “The Flowers 
of Japan.” 
Japanese Dwarf Trees 
129 
