ACCOUNTS m FARMING. 209 



set down under its proper head whatever incidents 

 were most noteworthy as, for instance, a soaking 

 rain ; a light or heavy shower ; a slight or killing 

 frost ; a fall of snow ; a hurricane ; a hail-storm ; a 

 gale ; a decidedly hot or notably cold temperature ; 

 the turning out of cattle to pasture or sheltering them 

 against the severity of "Winter ; also the planting or 

 sowing of each crop or field, and whether harm was 

 done to it by frost in its .infancy or when it ap- 

 proached maturity he would thus provide himself 

 with annual volumes of fact which would prove in- 

 structive and valuable throughout his maturer years. 



The good farmer will of course keep accounts with 

 such of his neighbors as he sees fit to deal with ; and 

 he ought to charge a lent or credit a borrowed plow, 

 harrow, reaper, log-chain, or other implement, pre- 

 cisely as though it were meal or meat of an equal 

 value. I judge that borrowed implements, if regu- 

 larly charged at cost, and credited at their actual 

 value when returned, would generally come home 

 sooner and in better condition. 



But the farmer, like every one else, should be most 

 careful to keep debt and credit with himself and his 

 farm. If a dollar is spent or lent, his books should 

 show it; and let items and sum total stare him in the 

 face when he strikes a balance at the close of the 

 year. If there has been no leakage either of dimes 

 or of hours, he will seldom be poorer on the 31st of 

 December than he was on the 1st of the preceding 

 January. 



