METHODS OF COE"DUCTTSrG COST" STUDIES. 15 



FARM PRODUCE USED IN HOUSE 



Farm rt^.J^JS^ Month^*^.-...., Year /..ftf Value 



Cream 4? ... .qts ^L?A % test «a 



Whole Milk &§. " ."* % " ® A7l.. 



Skim Milk SQ „. " % " %..®J.?QOCwt. 



Butter Q lbs % " @ ^Jt 



Eggs M... doz @ M:$. 



Poultry IQ lbs. dressed @ S6.t. 



Potatoes &k bu @ *2.e0 



i?.. Regular boarders 4.§M. Man Days 



S. Extra boarders 4..Q... Man Days 



Total J65. Man Days 



Number women doing housework 4. 



Fig. 6.— Monthly household record. 

 THE ACCOUNTING METHOD. 



Detailed farm cost records are the outstanding feature of cost of 

 production studies by this accounting method. This tends to 

 narrow the number of farm records that can be obtained with a 

 given fund for research. As contrasted with the survey method, it 

 entails the keeping of direct, individual accounts, whereas the survey 

 statistics are gathered in a rougher fashion that enables the investi- 

 gators to cover ground more rapidly. 



The principal advantage of the accounting methods is its accuracy. 

 It provides a body of fact that is valuable as a basis for fundamental 

 cost and organization studies. Its disadvantage lies in the com- 

 paratively small number of farms that can be studied with a given 

 fund, and in the danger that at least a part of the number selected 

 will not be typical or representative of a sufficient number to make 

 the data worth while. Another disadvantage, from an investiga- 

 tional standpoint, is the need of close supervision of the work, which 

 not only is costly from a money standpoint, but requires efficient, 

 experienced supervision that is relatively difficult to obtain. 



Several plans have been developed for making use of the accounting 

 method. The three most common are (1) the "route" plan, origi- 

 nated, and maintained with but few changes, by the Minnesota 

 Experiment Station; (2) the occasional visit and book plan, as used 

 by Cornell University in the State of New York; and (3) the corre- 

 spondence plan, as inaugurated and maintained for a number of 

 years by the Office of Farm Management, United States Department 

 of Agriculture. The principles underlying the accounting practice 



