478 



Missouri Agricultural Report. 



to depreciate farm machinery about 10 per cent each year. Market 

 prices are also observed in placing values on feed and supplies. 

 These are just a few general precautions which should be looked 

 out for. 



From this brief discussion of the inventory, attention must 

 now be turned to the keeping of a daily record. 



The daily record kept must include at least two kinds of items, 

 namely, "labor" and "receipts and expenses." Feed records in the 

 diary will be considered later. 



LABOR RECORDS. 



Slightly more than one-half of the page for each day is de- 

 voted to a record of the labor put in on a farm. This record should 

 include all work of importance, down to the half hour, performed 

 on the farm for the day. A possible exception is the chore labor. 

 On most farms this part of the work — the regular daily care of live 

 stock on the farm — is so regular in its nature that a monthly state- 

 ment of all work put in each day is sufficiently accurate. This 

 point will be enlarged on later. The labor record for a day will 

 contain items as shown in the following illustration: 



DAY. 



DATE PAGE . 



I sowed oats and clover in Field C in A. M., using 1 j bushels oats and 10 

 pounds clover per acre 



Oats cost me 75 cents and clover $23.50 cwt. 



The man plowed corn ground with 12-inch gang in Field B. Plowed 5h 

 acres 



I went to town in afternoon with produce 



I brought cow with young calf from lower pasture 



Ground works well. 



46 eggs and 20 pounds milk. 



Totals 



Three things are required of a labor item each day in order 

 that it will make the best record. These are: 



1st. What was done and where, if field work. 



2nd. What machine or tool was used, if any? 



3rd. How long did it require man and horse to do it? 



The time is recorded in hour's labor. If I work five hours with 

 two horses, I would record it as five-man hours and ten-horse hours. 



