No. -1.] FARM ACCOUNTING. 129 



one or more men give all the time to the care of the hens, that 

 time is naturally charged to the poultry account. Division of 

 labor may be made quite accurately by the expenditure of a 

 very little time; in fact, only a few moments each day, if a 

 plan similar to that in use at one of the State colleges is em- 

 ployed. A sheet for each man and each team is kept, with a 

 place to show, for each one, just where their work for the day 

 is put in. This is the labor record to which I have already 

 referred. (See Fig. 1.) 



It is important, as far as possible, to separate, in everything, 

 the charges for maintenance and general expenses from those 

 for permanent improvements, for we want to be able to analyze 

 our running expens.es at the end of the year. 



A yearly inventory is indispensable. Without it even the 

 yearly distribution sheet will not show us just where we stand. 

 That sheet might show a balance on the wrong side, but when 

 the inventory is considered, there may be found such an in- 

 crease over that of the year before as to more than offset the 

 deficit in the account. On the other hand, we might have a 

 good showing on the distribution sheet, which would be greatly 

 reduced by a decrease in the inventory. But taking the two 

 together, we shall be able to make up a statement which will 

 show exactly where we stand. 



Other accounts, their nature depending on the type of farm, 

 will be found very helpful. On a poultry farm I would suggest 

 keeping a careful egg record, and even if the number of poultry 

 is small, such a record will be found to be well worth while. 

 Samples of egg record blanks will be found in Figs. 3 and 4. 



On a dairy farm a careful record of each cow is invaluable. 

 By keeping a milk record, with which you are all familiar, and 

 a record of the feed given to each cow (which is much more 

 simple than you think, unless you have tried it), the book- 

 keeper will be able to work out all the other details found on 

 this record, except the per cent of butter fat, for which you 

 will need to make a test each month. (See Figs. 5 and 6.) 



You may notice that I have made no account of the labor 

 of taking care of the cow, and while this must be considered, 

 in order to be perfectly fair, it is not shown on the card for 

 this reason: all the other data on the cards are figures which 



