HOW TO KEEP FARM ACCOUNTS. 



15. DOUBLE ENTRY BOOKKEEPING furnishes a com- 

 plete business record iu which every transaction is made to ap- 

 pear on the Ledfjer as both debtor and creditor bj- observance of 

 the governinji; principles, that, in every instance the thinp ob- 

 tained is debtor to the thing given, and the thing given is creditor 

 of the thing obtained, by means of which a correct Ledger bal- 

 ance is always at command. In simple English it meaus that, 

 for every debit there must be a corresponding credit, and vice- 

 versa. That's the whole thing in a nutshell, and it is by using 

 this principle for a foundation that the entire structure of ac- 

 counts is built. 



16. ESSENTIAL BOOKS OF RECORD.— In double-entry, 

 the Journal, Cash Book and Ledger are the principal books, al- 

 though other books known as Auxiliary books are added for con- 

 venience. Nowadays the Cash Book and Ledger are the principal 

 books and it is perhaps advisable to have a separate book for 

 each on farms extensive enough to require the services of a book- 

 keeper, but for all farmers who must keep their own books, the 

 system shown in the pages which fullow is the most simple and 

 convenient. 



17. Books of Original Entry are those upon which the trans- 

 action is first recorded. In case of litigation the book of original 

 entry, whatever that book may be, is the one required to be pro- 

 duced in evidence. 



18. THE LEDGER is the book of accounts, and contains a 

 final summing up of all the accounts. 



19. THE JOURNAL OR DAY BOOK.— Formerly this book 

 was used to enter all transactions as they occuiTed from day to 

 day. Nowadays the best bookkeeping is that which tells every 

 detail with the least miuutia, and the tendency of the times is 

 to reduce the number of books and entries as much as possible, 

 hence, the Journal or Day Book is seldom used, the Cash Book 

 answering every purpose. 



20. THE CASH BOOK is the book used to detail the cash 

 transactions aud should always be a book of original entry. Ou 

 the farm it should answer the purpose, and take the place of the 



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