PREFACE 



OF the propriety of submitting this book to the 

 public I have had very serious doubts. The 

 nature-books of recent years have certainly been 

 a strong incentive to out-of-door life, to healthful 

 and clean living as near to nature as possible. 



And it seemed to me that any recital of actual 

 experiences that might possibly deter a person 

 seeking country life as a means of pecuniary 

 profit, from taking the plunge, might perhaps be 

 injudicious. 



But the more I considered the matter the more 

 I became convinced that the representations of 

 the beautifully illustrated nature-magazines, the 

 seductive stories in Sunday paper supplements, 

 farm and garden pamphlets, seed catalogues, 

 poultry periodicals, pigeon monthlies, and like 

 literature, were a trifle overdrawn, and only too 

 often had the effect of luring the unwary city 

 dweller to forsake the undeniable luxuries and 

 comforts of city life, for the hard, and often, at 

 first, unremunerative labor on a farm. 



For many city-bred people have become con- 

 vinced that the path to riches, luxury, and com- 

 fort is by way of mushrooms cultivated in an old 

 bureau or in a barn-cellar ; that a solid bank ac- 



