MY EXCUSE 9 



and at the same time not depleting my bank 

 account. I wished to experiment in intensive 

 farming, using ordinary farm land as other men 

 might do under similar or modified circumstances. 

 I believed that if I fed the land, it would feed 

 me. My plan was to sell nothing from the farm 

 except finished products, such as butter, fruit, 

 eggs, chickens, and hogs. I believed that best 

 results would be attained by keeping only the 

 best stock, and, after feeding it liberally, selling 

 it in the most favorable market. To live on the 

 fat of the land was what I proposed to do ; and 

 I ask your indulgence while I dip into the details 

 of this seven years' experiment. 



You may say that few persons have the time, 

 inclination, taste, or money to carry out such an 

 experiment ; that the average farmer must make 

 each year pay, and that the exploiting of this 

 matter is therefore of interest to a very limited 

 number. Admitting much of this, I still claim 

 that there is a lesson to every struggling farmer 

 in this narrative. It should teach the value of 

 brain work on the farm, and the importance 

 of intelligent cultivation ; also the advantages of 

 good seed, good tilth, good specimens of well- 

 bred stock, good food, and good care. Feed the 

 land liberally, and it will return you much. Per- 

 mit no waste in space, product, time, tools, or 

 strength. Do in a small way, if need be, what 

 I have done on a large scale, and you will quickly 

 commence to get good dividends. I have spent 



