and careless traditions of his forefathers.

Conditions on the farm are gradually changing for the better. The
agricultural colleges, the experiment stations, the lecture courses
which are given all over the country, and the general diffusion of
agricultural and horticultural knowledge, are introducing among farming
communities a more intelligent and more liberal treatment of land. But
these changes are so slow, and there is so much to be done before even
a small percentage of our six millions of farmers begin to realize their
opportunities, that even the weakest effort in this direction may be of
use. This is my only excuse for going minutely into the details of my
experiment in the cultivation of land. The plain and circumstantial
narrative of how Four Oaks grew, in seven years, from a poor,
ill-paying, sadly neglected farm, into a beautiful home and a profitable
investment, must simply stand for what it is worth. It may give useful
hints, to be followed on a smaller or a larger scale, or it may arouse
criticisms which will work for good, both to the critic and to the
author. I do not claim experience, excepting the most limited; I do not
claim originality, except that most of this work was new to me; I do not
claim hardships or difficulties, for I had none; but I do claim that I
made good, that I arrived, that my experiment was physically and
financially a success, and, as such, I am proud of it, and wish to give
it to the world.

I was fifty-three years old when I began this experiment, and I was
obliged to do quickly whatever I intended to do. I could devote any part
of $60,000 to the experiment without inconvenience. My desire was to
test the capacity of ordinary farm land, when properly treated, to
support an average family in luxury, paying good wages to more than the
usual number of people, keeping open house for many friends, and at the