FOREWORD 



1. The farmer who works all day under a blazing sun, nat- 

 urally looks upon the keeping of accounts from a different view- 

 point than other men in business for themselves. For besides the 

 long hours, rush-of-work and scarcity of help during the busy days 

 from seedtime till harvest, he has the natural aversion to writing 

 and detail common to all who do active physical labor. There- 

 fore, it's not a matter of surprise when we think of the conditions 

 under which the American farmer must labor, that, although he 

 has over twenty billions of dollars invested in his business, he 

 usually leaves the accounting of it for later consideration, with 

 the result that a record is seldom, if ever attempted of his farm- 

 stead's earnings and expenses. 



Admitting the value of bookkeeping on the farm!, the first 

 question that comes to the mind of the practical farmer is: "What 

 is the best way to keep my accounts." 



2. THE ESSENTIALS OF FARM ACCOUNTS.— In farm 

 accounting there are two essentials which ought always be kept 

 in mind. These are accuracy and simplicity. That all bookkeep- 

 ing must be accurate goes without saying, and that farm accounts 

 should be simple and free from detail is apparent to any one at all 

 familiar with actual every-day farm conditions. 



3. THE BOOKS OF RECORD.— The uses of modern com- 

 merce demand that the books of record suit the business in which 

 they are used. In the great mercantile and industrial organiza- 

 tions, it is often economy of time to have many books of record 

 but not so on the farm. Here, the less detail and fewer books of 

 record the better, hence, the method described and illustrated in 

 the following pages makes use of but one book. 



