viii PREFACE 



only, using a minimum number of rules. In the applica- 

 tion of these principles, agricultural operations and trans- 

 actions are used in three general ways. 



1. Showing the financial condition of the farm and the 

 progress it has made without showing the source of loss 

 or gain. 



2. Showing the financial condition of the farm and the 

 progress it has made, indicating by properly kept rec- 

 ords why the condition is such; that is, indicating the 

 source of loss or gain in a general way. 



3. Showing the financial condition of the farm and the 

 progress it has made, using subsidiary cost records for 

 feed and labor, and distributing other expenses so as to 

 show exact costs of production and thus indicate which 

 branches of farming operations pay, and which do not pay 

 on the farm in question. 



The arrangement of the subject matter is such that a 

 student who has a working knowledge of bookkeeping 

 might begin with Chapter V. One semester's course of 

 double entry bookkeeping should be sufficient to prepare 

 one for the more specialized farm accounting chapters 

 that follow. 



The treatment of some accounting principles herein is 

 not in harmony with the author's ideas of them as applied 

 to commercial accounting. The different conditions, aims 

 and facilities on the farm warrant the departure in most 

 instances. 



For example, the titles "Loss and Gain Account" and 

 "Loss and Gain Statement" are used instead of "Profit 

 and Loss," "Profit and Income," "Trading and Profit and 



