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splitting; the stick should be in proportion to the size of the vase, usually about the thickness of one's thumb. Split the stick at one end, a little to one side of the middle, for about an inch, or long enough to admit all the branches you wish to pass through; then at the end of this slit, or where the opening stops, make a notch with a knife through the bark on the thinner side and bend this thin side back until it forms a fork like Fig. 1. This notch forms a hinge which can be opened wide enough to admit of many flowers or closed so as to hold only one. It also prevents the slit from running the entire length of the stick.

In measuring the stick place one end an inch below the top edge of the vase, slanting the other end over the top edge on [42]