THE CULTIVATOR. 
as a number of acres are taken out, the whole hill is 
let down—not together in one mass,, but broken and 
mangled by the pillars and supports left by the miners. 
So that when the coal from any one hill is extracted 
and the pits abandoned, the soil upon its surface will 
have all the advantages of the best underdraining; 
and not draining of two or three feet in depth but of 
from ten to an hundred feet; and the ground being 
loosened to such a depth it is almost impossible that it 
should suffer from drouth. I have no doubt but this is 
one of the causes of the great crops on some of our 
hills. 
The drouth at this time (July 17th) is truly exces¬ 
sive, not a particle of moisture apparent in the ground 
to the depth of eighteen inches ; and the summer thus 
far has been so dry as to almost check the entire growth 
of all kinds of spring crops. The farm I cultivate, 
consists of about forty acres, all of which, excepting 
about ten acres, is undermined and underdrained by 
the taking out of the coal to the depth of from ten to 
one hundred feet. My crop of hay above the under¬ 
mining, has averaged over two tons to the acre, while 
a ‘ rich bottom ” of one of my neighbors, did not pro¬ 
duce one half the quantity. 
Again, I have planted upon the underdrained por¬ 
tion about three acres of corn: and on the same place 
below the draining, in a rich garden deeply spaded, 
there is planted a bed of the same kind of corn. The 
latter has received careful garden culture, and the 
former, planted on clover sod, the common field cul¬ 
ture. The first looks as if it wanted rain badly, but 
still has a good color and healthy appearance; but the 
leaves of the latter, look more like torches or fancy 
cigars, so closely have they wrapped themselves up 
than any growing vegetable. The product of hay, as 
well as the present appearance of the corn, can be 
partly at least, attributed’to the underdraining. 
These advantages are still more apparent upon the 
growing of fruit. Formerly the bottom land was al¬ 
ways sought after for gardens and orchards. A few 
years since an enterprising man fixed upon the top of 
one of our highest hills, (Mount Washington.) He now 
brings Hie first, largest and • best fruits to market, and 
gets the highest price. His land is undermined , and 
I understand he attributes his success greatly to this 
fact. B. B. Pittsburgh , Pa. 
Flax Culture. 
The Earl of Albermale, as President of the Norfolk 
Agricultural Association, has called the attention of the 
members of the Association, and of the public, to the 
consideration of the question, ‘ How are the Agricul¬ 
turists of Norfolk ( and of England) to be supplied in 
future at a moderate price, with the necessary articles 
of linseed and oil-cake, if we continue at war with the 
chief producing nation of those articles 7 ’ 
This is a question deserving consideration in En¬ 
gland, which imported last year 94,000 tons of flax, 
of which Russia furnished 64,000, and, also, 63,000 
tons of hemp, of which Russia furnished 41,000 
These importations cost, at peace prices, five mil¬ 
lions of pounds sterling, and at present war priees, 
would be of the value of nine millions. Here is a pre¬ 
mium on the growth of flax and hemp of four mil¬ 
lions sterling. The Earl then proceeds testate other 
considerations which tend to make it obvious that flax 
might be advantageously raised at hom9. Such of 
these considerations as are as applicable to the con¬ 
dition of things in America as to that in England, we' 
shall submit to our readers with as much succicntness 
and brevity as possible. 
One of the great merits of flax culture, according to 
the Earl of Albemarle, is the necessity for the exer¬ 
cise of skill in its cultivation. It is therefore a crop 
better adapted to the present advanced state of agri¬ 
culture than it was in former times. As the present 
high prices of wheat and grain cannot always continue 
the Earl asks.if it is not therefore desirable to have a 
crop that will indemnify the farmer for the occasionally 
low price of grain. Flax,he thinks is such a crop, be¬ 
ing the most remunerative that can well be grown. 
From various parts of the country he has obtained es¬ 
timates, according to which the profit of a crop of flax 
would, at usual prices, be more than double that of 
a crow of wheat. 
Another inducement to the cultivation of flax is this 
that it would afford increased employment to persons 
of both sexes, of all ages, and at all seasons of the 
year. 
As another mducement it is stated that flax will grow 
on almost every description of soil, and will take its 
plase in any part ot a rotation. Sir John Mae Neil, 
one of the largest cultivators of flax in Ireland, says 
that, though the soil best adapted for the growth, of 
flax is a deep rich loam, yet he grew 600 aces, in 
1853, on almost every description of land. Flax ap¬ 
pears to grow best and produces the largest quantity, 
when sown on land on which oats had grown the previ¬ 
ous year, but it is the practice in Armagh and Down 
to sow it after potatoes or turnips, and sometimes after 
barley. In every case the land should be exceedingly 
well cleaned, and free from weeds. The seed should 
be sown immediately after the land is plowed, as the 
seed is generally six weeks in the ground before it ap¬ 
pears, and will be longer if the ground should have 
lost the moisture it has when first plowed before be¬ 
ing sown. After plowing, the land should be har¬ 
rowed, then rolled with a heavy roller, then harrowed 
with a light harrow and the seed sown, and finally roll¬ 
ed with a light roller. When the plants are 3 or 4 
inches above the ground, the field should be weeded by 
children, against the icind. The plant should be 
pulled when the lower leaves appear to be decaying, 
or getting tinged with yellow. This is a very materi¬ 
al point to be attended to, for if allowed to get too ripe 
the fibre will be injured, and if pulled too green the 
seed will be injured. The, average quantity produced 
from an acre, in Ireland, may be taken at 2f tons 
weighed when dry, or 650 to 750 or 800 lbs. of dressed 
flax. 
Grass seeds and clover may be sown with the flax 
without any injury to the latter. The land will be very 
smooth for mowing. Sir J. Mac N. thinks that it is a 
mistake to suppose that flax injures the land. It may 
be sown every 4th or 5th year without injury to the 
land, if the crop is properly weeded 
