Contingent Accounts 37 



in these transactions, which is Farm Household. 

 The Personal Expense may include a great num- 

 ber of items, and it requires less detail than a 

 full account with Farm Household. 



In the methods outlined, those accounts which 

 belong to the business as a whole but which 

 can not well be charged to wheat field or 

 any other special account, have been charged 

 to a Contingent Account. Since the Contin- 

 gent Account seldom or never has a credit, 

 the apparent loss will, in reality, be deducted 

 from gross gains. The same will be true, to a 

 certain degree, of expenses incurred in the house- 

 hold, since they will nearly all be debtor charges 

 unless credits appear by reason of workmen 

 boarded in the family. Contingent Account must 

 be carefully distinguished from Personal Expense. 



We shall meet with some slight difficulty, in 

 practice, when an account with Farm Household 

 is not kept; but the busy farmer may meet with 

 many more if he tries to keep such an account. 

 For instance, in the eggs and butter traded at 

 the store for sugar or coffee, it is evident that 

 the value of the former must be credited to live 

 stock ; but if there is no account with Farm House- 

 hold, which uses the groceries, there can be no 

 debit side to the entry. Since there cannot be a 

 credit without a debit nor a debit without a credit, 

 we can overcome the difficulty by ignoring the 



