ILLINOIS STATE DAIEYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 19 



never support them with figures. Now, if a man has conveniences for 

 weighing his animals, (and every farmer ought to have,) it will not take 

 much time to know, hy figures, whether or not the proper way to raise a 

 hog is to starve him during the first half of his existence, in order that he 

 may have a good appetite during the rest of his life ; it will not take much 

 time to know whether it pays better to market fat hogs, nine months old, 

 and weighing two hundred and fifty pounds, or to keep them until they are 

 eighteen months old and weigh five hundred pounds. 



So important is this matter of keeping accounts, so necessary to a high 

 degree of success to the farmer, that I will risk the tiring of your patience 

 while I briefly outline a system, or rather part of a system, which it seems 

 to me might and should be adopted by every intelligent farmer, unless he 

 already has something better. On the first day of January, let him deter- 

 mine the several sources from which he expects income during the year. 

 The more important of these should be selected, and a page of a common 

 ledger devoted to each ; write the name of the department at the top of 

 the page. Perhaps, for the first year, the ledger might appear as follows : 

 First page, " Milch Cows ;" second page, " Fatting Steers ;" third page, 

 " Other Neat Stock ;" fourth page, " Hogs ;" fifth page, " Sheep ;" sixth 

 page, "Poultry." 



Now he should carefully estimate the value of the stock in each 

 department on January 1st, and enter its value upon the left side of the 

 ledger page devoted to that particular source of income. Then, as often as 

 he receives income from any one of these departments^ during the year, let 

 him enter it upon the right-hand side of the proper ledger page. And, as 

 often as any department is the cause of an expenditure, he should enter 

 the amount of the expense upon the left side. At the end of every month 

 he should estimate carefully the food consumed by the animals of each 

 department during the month, and place its value with the expenditures, 

 on the left side. At the end of the year the valuation of stock in each 

 department should be again taken and placed upon the right-hand side of 

 the ledger page. Now the page or pages devoted to milch cows, will show 

 something like the following results: 



Upon the left-hand side will be the valuar.ion at the beginning of the year, say $1,600 



Also, items of expense, including animals bought, amount paid for medicine, salt, 



butter tubs, etc., etc. , 309 



Food, as estimated at the end of each month 1,420 



Tota' $3,3-20 



Upon the right-hand side will be the amounts received fer but'er sold $1,8."0 



Amount received for animals sold 100 



Value of sour milk ted to pigs, as estimated monthly 400 



Value of milk and butter consumed upon the table 75 



Valuation of milch cows at the end of year 1,800 



Total $4,22- 



