FOREWORD 



WE are not tied to a desk or to a bench ; we stay there 

 only because we think we are tied. 



In Montana I had a horse, which was hobbled every 

 night to keep him from wandering ; that is, straps joined by 

 a short chain were put around his forefeet, so that he could 

 only hop. The hobbles were taken off in the morning, but 

 he would still hop until he saw his mate trotting off. 



This book is intended to show how any one can trot off 

 if he will. 



It is not a textbook ; there are plenty of good textbooks, 

 which are referred to herein. Intensive cultivation cannot 

 be comprised in any one book. 



It shows what is needed for a city man or woman to sup- 

 port a family on the proceeds of a little bit of land ; it shows 

 how in truth, as the old Book prophesied, the earth brings 

 forth abundantly after its kind to satisfy the desire of every 

 living thing. It is not necessary to bury oneself in the 

 country, nor, with the new facilities of transportation, need 

 we, unless we wish to, pay the extravagant rents and 

 enormous cost of living in the city. A little bit of land 

 near the town or the city can be rented or bought on 

 easy terms ; and merchandising will bring one to the city 

 often enough. Neither is hard labor needed; but it is to 

 work alone that the earth yields her increase, and if, although 

 unskilled, we would succeed in gardening, we must attend 

 constantly and intelligently to the home acres. 



Every chapter of this book has been revised by a specialist, 



