Next in importance to the arrangement of the flowers is the manner of making them draw water. To this end various devices are used, of which the commonest is to burn the bottom-end of the stalk; this end, on being then dipped into the vase, sucks up water which is thereupon circulated into the rest of the stalk. The hardwood of a tree branch is often crushed at the end to facilitate its permeation by water. Some plants are put into hot water; others are covered with mud or nicotine at the end; and others again are dipped in a strong solution of tea and Japan pepper. Salt is sprinkled over bamboo to keep off insects, and with the same object tobacco powder is thrown on some plants. The shape of the vase is also of importance and has to be taken into consideration with the _kakemono_ exhibited. They are of various shapes. The commonest are of china, tall, round, and slightly bulging in the middle. Sometimes they are more slender, and sometimes no more than deep dishes, square or round. If they are to be hung up by a chain, as in a tea-room, they are shaped like a boat or a water-bucket; or if they are to be hooked on a peg, they are made of china or bamboo. The pedestal for the vase is also of diverse shapes. It may be a flat piece of wood or china, or have legs, one at each of the four corners or one at either side flattened out. [Illustration: A TRAY-LANDSCAPE.] Another art is the making of what are called “tray-landscapes.” For this an elliptical tray, whose diameters are about a foot and a foot and a half, is taken, and on it landscapes and sea-views are drawn with pebbles for rocks and sand of various fineness for the ground. Such a landscape forms an ornament for the parlour. [Illustration: THE _KOTO_.] The only Japanese musical instrument taught in girls’ schools is the _koto_, a kind of zither. As the _koto_ is the most adaptable of all Japanese instruments to western music, it is more readily learnt than others at schools where the piano and the violin are also taught. There are several kinds of _koto_, the number of strings on them ranging from one to twenty-five; but the one exclusively used at schools has thirteen strings It has a hollow convex body, six feet five inches long and ten inches wide at one end and half an inch narrower at the other, and stands on legs three and a half inches high. The strings are tied at equal distances at the head or broader end and gathered at the other; they are supported each by its own bridge, the position of which varies with the pitch required. Small ivory nails are put on the tips of the fingers for striking the strings.