Page:Japanese flower arrangement.djvu/218

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JAPANESE FLOWER ARRANGEMENT

the end so (see cut) by cutting and apply some dry Sansho in the openings made; then put the branch in water for two or three hours.

These simple and well-thought-out methods do more towards preserving cut flowers than the complicated drug mixtures which are so secretly held back by the masters; or, I should say, were held, for the teachers today give more liberally of this knowledge. In ancient times the rules for preserving flowers were completely withheld from the pupils. A master would sometimes reveal one rule or secret at a time to an advanced pupil, but it was impossible for any student to find out all the rules, unless in the case of the master's death, when to a favorite pupil

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