Mav, 1918 



G L E A N T N G S IN ii K ]•; C U I. T U R E 



279 



£ FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



jnonev or its equivalent received and the 

 ainoiiiits expended. 



The beekeepers' fiscal year should start 

 aud end at the time of year when spring 

 Mild winter losses of bees have practically 

 ended and swarming begins. Thru the cen- 

 tral part of the United States, I believe May 

 1 to be the pro})er date. On that day take 

 IH'ncil and paper or book, and start the in- 

 voice. Count all live colonies of bees. If 

 producing- comb honey, let two supers be 

 considered as part of a colony of bees. Fig 

 ure the value of your bees at prices for 

 which bees are selling in your neighborhood. 

 Count all extra hives and supers and place 

 their value opposite the number. List your 

 extractor, tanks, gas engine, wax press, tools 

 of all kinds pertaining to the bee industry; 

 also cans, shipping cases, wax and honey 

 left over, placing their value on the left- 

 hand side of paper. 



Every thing you possess of value in con- 

 nection with the bee industry should be list- 

 ed in this invoice and its present value set 

 down. These things are not taxed under 

 the income law, but only the income derived 

 from the sale of the bees or the sale of what 

 they produce. This invoice furnishes a foun- 

 dation on which to start a simple set of 

 books in which to keep accurate account of 

 your bee industry. 



The books needed can be obtained at 89c 

 |)er dozen. They have pasteboard backs or 

 covers and are listed as "Bookkeeping 

 Blanks. ' ' Those marked ' ' Day Book ' ' will 

 answer for all purposes. Write on the out- 

 side of one, "Ledger," and use it for a 

 ledger. On about the third page of this 

 ledger, write above the top line "Bees." 

 On the first line intended for accounts, write 

 "Mav 1, 1918. Bv invoice, 100 colonies of 

 bees @ $6.00, $600".00." Charge the $600.00 

 in the first column intended for figures. The 

 top of this first column should be marked 

 Debit (Dr.); and the top of the next column, 

 on the same page, should be marked Credit. 

 (Cr.) If you buy any bees during the year, 

 charge ' ' Bees ' ' with the number of colonies 

 purchased at the price paid for them. But 

 do not make any entry of the swarms you 

 have during the season: they will be count- 

 ed and entered at invoice next May, 1919. If 

 you sell any bees or queens, credit ' ' Bees ' ' 

 with the amount you sold. 



Turn over a leaf and write at the top 

 ' ' Supplies and Tools. ' ' Charge or debit 

 ' ' Supplies and Tools ' ' with extra hives, ex- 

 tractor, hive tools, smokers, every thing used 

 for keeping and working with bees, and for 

 securing the honey and the wax. 



Turn over another page and write ' ' Honey 

 and Cans." Charge "Honey and Cans" 

 with cans on hand; also with all salable hon- 

 ey left over, at the price for wliich it can be 

 sold. The cans or cases purchased this year 

 must be charged to this account. Also 



charge this account with freight paid on 

 cans or cases, as it is a part of the cost of 

 the cans or cases. All the honey sold during 

 the year must be credited to this account, 

 and the freight or postage paid to ship the 

 honey must be charged to this account. 



Turn over another leaf and write ' ' Wax. ' ' 

 Look on your invoice and, if you had any 

 foundation on hand, charge it to " Wax. ' ' 

 If any wax is left over, charge it to ' ' Wax ' ' 

 at market price. All the foundation you 

 buy charge to "Wax." All the wax you 

 sell, or have made into foundation, or trade 

 for other goods, credit ' ' wax ' ' with the 

 value of it. 



Turn over another leaf aud write "Ex- 

 pense. ' ' Charge ' ' Expense ' ' with hired la- 

 bor, gasoline, cost of fixing broken tools, etc. 



If you peddle your honey or sell it in small 

 amounts, mark one of the day books ' ' Honey 

 Sales, ' ' and set down in this book every sale 

 you make; and at the end of the year, trans- 

 fer the total amount of the sales to the 

 ledger to the credit of "Honey and Cans." 



Mark one book "Day Book" and set 

 down each day the things you pay out money 

 for and the things you sell, exclusive of the 

 honey sales, which are set down in the book 

 marked "Honey Sales." At a convenient 

 time, transfer these entries in the day book 

 to their proper place in the ledger. Always 

 set down the date in the day book and the 

 ledger. 



If you siell honey on credit to some of your 

 customers, enter the sale in your "Honey 

 Sales Book" in this manner: July 30, 1918. 

 John Doe, Dr., 4 10-lb. cans honey @ $1.25, 

 $5.00. When he pays you, mark somewhere 

 in the above account in large letters, 

 "Paid." The sale of honey is on record in 

 your "Honey Sales" book and you can read- 

 ily see if it is or is not paid for. If paid, 

 you need not have any account in your 

 ledger with John Doe. 



Use one of the books for your invoice. 



Use one in which to keep addresses of your 

 customers, and also of firms with whom you 

 wish to do business. 



Do not mix farm accounts and bee ac- 

 counts. 



At the end of the year, ask some friend 

 who is a bookkeeper to carry your accounts 

 to "Profit and lioss, " and to close your 

 books for you. Then you will know just what 

 your bee industry is worth. The same 

 friend will tell you what expense to subtract 

 from your income, and whether or not you 

 owe any income tax. C. E. Parks. 



Ft. Duchesne, Utah. 



[In the le<]ger, instead of the account 

 "Honey and Cans," some might prefer the 

 two separa^te accounts "Honey" and "Cans 

 and Cases"; and then at the end of the 

 year charge the "Cans and Cases" to the 

 account of the honey. — Editor.] 



