"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"