34 PRESENT-DAY GARDENING 
All useless parts removed should be taken out of the 
house and burnt. It is a common practice to throw the 
leaves under the stage. No rubbish of this, or any other 
kind, should be allowed in the Orchid house, as it forms a 
harbour for insects and is, in other respects, objectionable. 
CHAPTER VII 
PROPAGATION BY DIVISION 
Ir used to be thought a very delicate operation to divide 
an Orchid, or to remove any portion of it for the purpose of 
obtaining another specimen, and, when the operation was 
carried out, it was thought to be at the risk of the plant and 
its offset. 
In the case of badly grown plants, or where the houses 
are unsuitable for growing Orchids successfully, there may 
still be considerable risk in the process; but under ordi- 
nary conditions, and where the plants have proper accom- 
modation, there is no risk whatever ; it may be said that 
plants are never in better health than when they are divided 
at reasonable intervals. If we consider the case of Cypripe- 
dium insigne Sandere, some of the white Cattleyas, and many 
other Orchids which were imported only as single specimens 
originally but which are now well represented in gardens, 
the advantage of dividing the plants is readily seen. 
Pseudo-bulbous Orchids with progressive rhizomes, 
such as Cattleyas, Lzelias, Oncidiums, and Odontoglossums, 
should be divided by severing the rhizomes, retaining two 
