No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 311 



of farm products, and the distribution of labor on the farm, as in- 

 fluenced by his farm conditions. One of the important questions of 

 the day among business men is the establishment of scientific manage- 

 ment, which will give greater efficiency. The study of efficiency in 

 operating large plants has been perfected in many places so that the 

 manufacturer is realizing greater profits. The efficiency and distribu- 

 tion of farm labor is a problem also which is one of the most im- 

 portant on the farm. The farmer should know the cost of feeding 

 and caring for the ditlereut animals ; he should know the cost of labor, 

 both horse and man labor for the different crops ; he should know the 

 production and cost of production of dairy products, in order to have 

 an accurate knowledge of the profits and losses on the farm. Many 

 farmers are beginning to realize the necessity of keeping careful 

 records and are establishing systems which will give them this data. 

 In most cases, however, this is done on large farm xjropositions where 

 the records and accounts are kept by a bookkeeper hired for that pur- 

 pose. The small farmer, however, needs this information just as much, 

 and a simple system of keeping his accounts maj^ be devised, which, 

 while not absolutely accurate, will give enough of this information to 

 determine Avhat profits are being made on the farm. 



The Office of Farm Management has for some time been keeping 

 records on a number of farms, doing the tabulation in the office, by a 

 system of daily record blanks, especially designed fo getting the in- 

 formation which this office needs. The summaries of the yearly 

 records on many of these farms are extremely interesting and suggest 

 many things of importance in their business management. 



In order to show the importance of this work and what a careful 

 keeping of farm records actually means, the following tabulations of 

 the cost of growing corn, the maintenance of an ochard and handling 

 the apple crop, is given. 



