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account with each kind of stock of the amount and value 

 of food consumed. You should keep a milk record of 

 your cows, an egg record of your fowls, a pork record of 

 your hogs, and a labor record of your horses. Then from 

 the total amount credited to each department, take the 

 cost of food, care, interest on capital, taxes, etc., add in 

 the value of manure produced, and the result will be the 

 profit. The cows should be credited with the milk used 

 in the family and the hens with all eggs whether used or 

 sold, and when a pig is put in the pork barrel, the pig 

 department should be credited with the amount he was 

 worth and the family charged. An individual milk rec- 

 ord with the cows enables one to dispose of the least pro- 

 fitable. I have often noted that a cow that gives a big 

 mess when fresh and gets the name of the best cow, often 

 comes to the end of the year several hundred pounds be- 

 hind some other cow that was considered but ordinary. 

 Fifth, a separate account with each crop should be kept. 

 When you have decided to plant a crop, measure the land 

 it is to occupy. Keep account of the number of cords 

 and value of fertilizer and manure used. Keep account 

 of the number of hours labor spent in planting, cultivat- 

 ing, and harvesting the crop. Add in cost of seed, inter- 

 est on land, etc. From this amount subtract the value of 

 the manu^ applied, not used by the crop, as near as you 

 can estimate it and you have the total cost of the crop. 

 Unless you know what your crops cost, you cannot in- 

 telligently set a selling price. Keep account of the num- 

 ber of bushels or lbs. produced. Divide the total cost by 

 this number and you have the cost of a bushel or pound. 

 The only uncertain quantity in crop accounts is the 

 value of manure left in the soil. Experiments should be 

 made to determine this point. A part of crop accounts 

 can be kept in the form of a diary. Each man should 

 have a space allotted to him each day. It thus becomes 

 a time account. If any man fails to work, put a cipher 



