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 two. The kubari should have been cut just large enough to have these three fill the opening, Man pressing firmly to the end of the forked opening in the kubari and Earth pressed against the back of the vase. Should they not fill the opening, use sticks cut from the ends of the flowers you are using to fill up with. Cut these wedge sticks all about four inches long, slanting each one off at the bottom, and pass them through the kubari into the space back of the flowers until all the opening there is filled up and the flowers are firmly wedged in place.

When you have finished placing the flowers in the vase, sit at a distance and carefully look your arrangement over. First observe the balance of the lines. The top of Heaven must be directly over its base and Earth must balance Man, though not on the same level. If you find Heaven, or the central branch, seems a little out of position after you have placed it in the vase and appears as follows: [63]