70 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[May, 



midity in connection witli cold, is more injur- 

 ious to fruit— as we knoiv it is to tlie vitality 

 of most insects— tliau even a colder Vnit drier 

 atmosphere, -whether on a hill or in a valley. 

 As to the CurcuUo, so much has been said 

 and written upon tlie subject, that we have 

 no heart to say anything more, at this time, 

 but— "catch 'em, choke 'em, and throw poi- 

 son down their throats."— ^d. 



For The Lancaster Farmer. 

 BOOK-KEEPING BY FARMERS. 



It has often been urged upon farmers to 

 keep accounts with their crops and farming 

 operations, and I have no doubt a great many 

 more would have begun to do so than did, but 

 for the dread that it required more education 

 than tliey possessed. On this head, they who 

 would like to keep such accounts need have 

 no fears, as keeping accounts is really simple, 

 if started in the right manner, and then kept 

 up punctually as there are entries to be made. 



For this purpose two books are needed, a 

 ledger and memorandum book. In the former 

 are entered the regular accounts, the heading 

 of which should be in a large hand and put 

 into the index as soon as such heading is made ; 

 tlie latter is intended to jot down items as 

 they occur, and are then transferred to tlie 

 ledger at certain times, and which should be 

 at least once a week. 



There are a few terms which must be made 

 clear. In all common ledgers there are two 

 sets of columns for dollars and cents. Above 

 the one is wi'itten the letters Dr., which stand 

 for debtor, and iu this column must be put all 

 amounts that cost an outlay for that particular 

 account ; and the entry is . commenced with 

 the word To. Above the other set is written 

 the letter.'; Or. {for creditor), and in such 

 column must be put all amounts that result as 

 income from that account, and the entry is 

 commenced with the word By. 



Ledgers are of two forms, one is ruled and 

 kept as in Fig. A, viz. : 



The above style is mostly used by merchants 

 and I think is not quite so suitable as the sec- 

 ond form given in Fig. B, viz.: 



I do hot advocate this form because I think 

 it more simple, but it shows the operations in 

 a more continuous form than the first would, 

 as each entry, whether "Dr." or "Cr." comes 

 in the regular order iu which the operation oc- 

 curred. 



We will now give an account in detail at 

 Fig. C. 



187C. 



eoRN. 



May 



July 

 Sept. 

 Nov. 



li To 

 12 To 

 ■29 'To 



3U|To 

 To 



60 loads Mauiii-e at X of $2.00 

 haxiliug and spreadiug same.. 



plowing 10 acres, (^ $2.25 



preparing 10 acres, @ 50c. . . 



drilliug 10 acres, @ 40c 



seed eoru 



harrow'g with snioothiug bar. 

 harrow'g with smoothing har. 



plowing corn 



jinlliug suckers 



cutting off corn 



husk nig aud cribbing 



hauling in corn lodder 



1750 bun's corn fodder, @ 8c. 



500 bus. corn, @ 50c , 



interest aud taxes on 10 acres, 

 profit 



Dr. 



60 1 00 

 13 1 50 

 22, 50 



Cr. 



390! 00 : 390 00 



It is not to be presumed that the above is a 

 real bona fide account, or that it is in any de- 

 gree a correct representation of the operations 

 as they occurred, or the cost of the labor, &c., 

 but it is merely to show the manner in which 

 all accounts should be kept. 



The item of " interest and taxes" is dis- 

 puted by some, as to whether it should be 

 charged against the crop or to farming opera- 

 tions in general, but I think each crop should 

 be charged with the interest and the taxes for 

 the time such crop takes up the land, which is 

 generally a year ; for though a crop may be 



only occupying theland for Ave or six months, 

 yet but one crop is usually all that can be ta- 

 ken off in a single year. 



The charging of only one-half the value of 

 the manure also requires an explanation. It 

 is the custom, I believe, in keeping this kind 

 of accounts, to suppose that only one half of 

 the strength of barn yard manure is taken up 

 by the first crop, and therefore oue-haif of the 

 manure is charged to the first crop and the 

 remainder to the succeeding crop. In com- 

 mercial fertilizers the whole amount is 

 charged to the crop which receives the appli- 

 cation, as but very little effect is produced by 

 them on the succeeding crops. Lime, how- 

 ever, is not all cliarged to the first crop, but 

 should probably be charged to at least three 

 successive crops , one third of the cost each time. 



The question may be asked : 



How shall I charge my own labor ? Charge 

 it at the same rate as you would be charged 

 by another person to do the same work for 

 you; or what you would charge another per- 

 son for doing that work. 



How many, and what accounts should be 

 kept 1* Start by keephig an account with each 

 crop ; and as you get more familiar with the 

 details, commence with the cows, pigs, teams, 

 &c. Also after awhile your farming opera- 

 tions,under wliich you insert profits and losses, 

 repairs, wear and tear of tools and imple- 

 ments, &c. 



And last, but not least, keep a strict ac- 

 count with your workmen, not that they in- 

 tend to cheat you, but for the satisf^iction of 

 knowing at all times how you stand with your 

 men, and it is often the means of preventing 

 quarrels and ill feeling. 



Keep their accounts in as orderly a manner 

 as for the crops, tfcc. A few years ago I saw 

 an account against a laborer by one of our 

 farmers, and as it was a jumbled up aflair, I 

 will here give the style : 



Jonathan Pineknot, March 12. Spread 

 lime one-half day, 50 cents. March 14, set 10 

 panels pos fens at 14 cents, $1 and 40 cents. 

 March 18, plowd 3 quarters of a day, one dol- 

 lar and 12 cents. March 20, he got a bushels 

 corn, 2 dollars and 2.5 cents. April 2, plowed 

 one half a day, 75 cents. April 3, paid him 

 one dollar and fifty-two cents full. 



Then there was a big cross marked on to 

 show that it was "put"out." I have no ob- 

 jection to the spelling, for the man had not 

 as much education as our farmers' boys now 

 receive, but the man might have done some 

 better as at Fig. D. 



April 



JONATHAN PINEKNOT. Dr. Cr. 



To X day spreading lime 



To setting lo panels fence, @ 14c. 



To ijj day plowing, (g $1.60 



By 3 burthels corn, (ni. 75c 



To plowing X tl'^y 



By cash iu full 



B 37 



It would not have taken any more educa- 

 tion to keep the above account in the form 

 given, than to keep it in the way it was done. 



I think that keeping of accounts should be 

 taught in all ungraded schools, both to boys 

 and to girls; for girls when they grow up often 

 have as much need of keeping accounts as the 

 men, and I have known instances where the 

 younger girls of a family kept the accounts for 

 the father, whose eyes had become somewhat 

 dim. 



Things to remember in keeping accounts : 



Be punctual in making memoranda and then 

 to transfer them to the ledger at short inter- 

 vals. 



What costs an outlay put in the "Dr" col- 

 umn. 



What represents an income put in the "Cr" 

 column. 



Put the date to each entry.— J.. B. K. 



The Country Gentleman says : " An easy 

 way to destroy Canada thistles is to plow them 

 completely under, first before blossoming, as 

 afterwards as soon as the first green point ap- 

 pears at the surface. We have completely 

 killed large tracts in this way at a cost of six 

 or seven dollars per acre. 



For The Lancaster Fakmek. 

 DOES THE WATER STRIKE THROUGH. 



Many brick walls are so poorly built that when 

 a heavy rain storm occurs the water strikes 

 through them, and many a family, after going 

 to the labor and expense of building them- 

 selves a new brick house, have found that it 

 was in no wise the perfect shelter that they had 

 a right to expect. After the first equinoctial 

 and sometimes before, yellow streaks are on 

 the walls inside, and great patches of the same 

 color disfigure the whole surface, and though 

 the careful housekeeper makes haste to cover 

 them with her never-failing whitewash, yet 

 every dashing rain that follows, brings with it 

 a repetition of the same experience, and no 

 wonder if the sorely tried inmates in despair 

 exclaim, "better an old house than such anew 

 one." 



But there is a remedy for every ill if we but 

 search for it, and to those who do not wish to 

 go to the expense of putting on a coat of paint 

 or plastering, or as some even have done, put 

 on a weather-boarding,making the house look 

 as if it were a frame one, we would sug- 

 gest a trial of Uncle Sam's Coating, as 

 used by the Government for painting 

 light houses, and which is said to ef- 

 fectually prevent moisture from striking 

 through. It is made of fresh Rosendale ce- 

 ment three parts, clean fine sand one part ; 

 mix with fresh water thoroughly. This gives 

 a gray or granite color, dark or light, accord- 

 ing to the color of the cement. If brick color 

 is desired, add enough Venetian red to the 

 mixture to produce the color. If a very light 

 color is desired, lime may be used with the 

 cement and sand. Care must be taken to have 

 all the ingredients well mixed together. ^_ 



In applying the wash, the wall must be wet ^M 

 with clean, fresh water ; then follow immedia- ^^ 

 tely with the cement wash. This prevents 

 the bricks from absorbing the water from the 

 wash too rapidly, and gives the cement time 

 to set. Tlie wash must be stirred during the 

 application. The mixture is to be made as 

 thick as can be applied conveniently with a 

 whitewash brush. This wash can also be 

 applied to fences, etc., but cannot be used to 

 advantage over paint or whitewash. — JE. 



For Tbe Lancaster Farmer. 



SOUTHWEST MISSOURI. 



Editor Farmer : Having examined most 

 of the many great farming, grazing and fruit- 

 growing regions of the Great West, I do not 

 hesitate to pronounce Southwest Missouri 

 superior to any other portion for its vast ag- 

 ricultural, mineral and timljer resources, 

 stock-raising, bee-keeping, fruit-growing, 

 manufacturing and railway facilities, mild- 

 ness and healthfulness of climate and entire 

 absence of grasshoppers. 



Agricultural Resources, 



To insure luxuriant vegetation three things 

 are necessary, viz.: rich soil, sufficient moist- 

 ure and plenty of sunshine ; all of which 

 exist iu Southwest Missouri. Every variety 

 of soil is found here that can be needed in farm- 

 ing, fruit-growing or stock-raising, as is shown 

 bjT the large crops of all kinds of grain, 

 grasses, vegetables and fruits produced. 

 Apples, peaches, pears, plums, cherries, 

 grapes and all kinds of berries flourish and 

 never entirely fail. The wild grapes are 

 almost equal in size and quality to some cul- 

 tivated varieties in the Eastern States. 



Blue grass, timothy and clover do well ; 

 and old bee-keepers say tliat wherever clover 

 grows bees will succeed ; and if this is cor- 

 rect, Southwest Missouri will soon be a great 

 honey country. 



Water — Winter — Timber. 



Water is of the best quality and abundant. 

 It is found in clear, sparkling springs and 

 rapid streams innumerable. The average an- 

 nual rainfall is about forty-two inches, most 

 of which falls during the growing season. 



The winters are mild and short, the ground 

 never frozen more than two or three weeks, 



