In this paper, a new method is developed for estimating the mean of a population which has a linear trend. This method involves drawing a sample by the modified systematic sampling, and then estimating the population mean with an adjusted estimator, not with the sample mean itself. We use the method of least squares in determining the adjusted estimator. The proposed method is shown to be more and more efficient as the linear trend becomes stronger. It turns out to be relatively efficient as compared with the conventional methods if $sigma$$^2$the variance of the random error term in the infinite superpopulation model, is not very large.