454 



Farm Accounts. 



[sept., 



kept, though a labour book may be added on the larger 

 farms; in others, one of the many useful farm account books 

 now on the market is used and is regularly entered up, 

 whilst several instances have been met with where the farmer, 

 although he has had no instruction whatever in book-keeping, 

 has devised quite a useful system, so well adapted to his 

 needs that it has not been thought advisable to suggest any 

 change. Farmers whose affairs are investigated in the Bank- 

 ruptcy Courts have rarely kept accounts of their business ; 

 but such cases can scarcely be taken as an indication of the 

 general practice followed by more successful agriculturists. 



Advantages of Keeping Farm Accounts. — The advantages 

 accruing to the proprietor from well-kept accounts of his 

 business are widely recognised. It may be well, however, to 

 enumerate a few of the most important of these in the case 

 of a farmer. 



(1) The farmer's dealings are recorded and presented in a 

 clear and methodical form. 



(2) Accounts of debts owing or receivable are shown. For 

 large farms this is most important, and also on all farms 

 where a retail trade is carried on. On small or medium-sized 

 holdings the number of sales or purchases on credit is small, 

 and the period for payment is short, except in cases where 

 there is a dairy or poultry business, so that records of credit 

 dealings, beyond those supplied by entries in a diary or note 

 book, are not so necessary. 



(3) Attention is directed to excessive expenses or to pos- 

 sible economies. Small items often amount to a considerable 

 total, and this attracts attention in a way the individual items 

 would fail to do. In this connection it may be doubted 

 whether many farmers, except those who keep regular 

 accounts, have any definite knowledge in regard to the 

 amount of their private expenses or cost of living. Their 

 business and private monies are rarely kept separate, and in 

 many cases what is left over after both business and private 

 expenses have been met is looked upon as representing the 

 whole of the profits from farming. Undoubtedly, many 

 farmers are securing larger profits than they themselves 

 recognise, owing to their private expenses being in excess of 

 what they estimate. 



(4) A record of expenses which can be claimed by the 



