BUSINESS METHODS IN FARMING 117 



the most important data on record on the stub, the re- 

 turned check and the payments he has made for labor 

 and how much has gone to each man, what proportion 

 of his outlay has gone for repairs, upkeep and improve- 

 ments; in short, in the absence of any other record he 

 will be able to get a fair summary of his financial stand- 

 ing from his check book. In addition to this he should 

 always make out a duplicate of his deposit check, stat- 

 ing in each item its source and details of the payment. 

 Thus both his income and outgo are at hand for com- 

 parison. But the home consumption, and the general 

 cost of housing and keeping will, of course, fail of rec- 

 ord in the check book. This fault might be avoided by 

 a supplementary record of the amount of the home- 

 grown food and other supplies used in the home. The 

 farmer who keeps even such simple accounts as those 

 outlined, gets a hold on his business, takes a greater 

 pride therein, and ends by being prosperous and use- 

 ful. I always feel like saying to a farmer who keeps 

 this useful record, " You are on the road to prosperity, 

 soon you will be out of debt and you will take an in- 

 creasing pleasure and pride in your business." 



In further detail I urge every farmer who reads these 

 lines to make at least one experiment. If you have a 

 field of which the area is known do you know of any 

 farmer who does n't guess at the size of his field ? 

 keep just one accurate account of one crop. Suppose 

 it is wheat. Compute for one year the following 

 data: 



A. Value of land per acre and interest at 6 per cent. 



B. Taxes. 



C. Fertilizer (commercial), amount used and cost, 

 including hauling and drilling. 



D. Loads and cost of manure at 50 cents per load. 



