FARM ACCOUNTS 429 
a great deal of money. It may be very easy to buy it on time, 
but very hard to make the payments when they become due. 
A good farmer keeps himself well informed on the subject, 
knows exactly what machinery will pay for itself by the sav- 
ing of hand labor, and as a good business man, he confines his 
purchases to such as will yield returns on the investment. 
A good farmer is also a good machinist; he knows how to 
keep his machinery in perfect repair and to make it last. He 
takes care of it in seasons when not in use and does not allow 
it to decay or to be eaten up by rust. It is said that farm 
machinery is often damaged more by exposure to the weather 
during the long seasons of idleness than by the wear result- 
ing from the short periods of use. 
Farm Accounts 
The farmer, like any other successful business man, must 
keep accounts. They should show (1) his business relations 
with other persons, (2) what branches of his operations have 
been profitable, and (3) the value of his possessions. 
Personal Accounts. — The most important of all accounts 
are those that show clearly one’s business relations with 
other persons. It often results in misunderstanding and un- 
pleasantness even between friends if the facts concerning 
labor and purchases and payments are intrusted to a fickle 
memory instead of a written record in which the exact in- 
debtedness of either party is clearly shown beyond question. 
Departmental Accounts may be kept with the leading 
departments or branches of the farming operations. Their 
purpose is to show which have been profitable and which 
have been conducted at a loss. Such accounts may, for ex- 
ample, be kept for wheat, cows, horses, sheep, and in fact 
any or all of the principal factors in the farm business on which 
