16 BULLETIN 840, U. 8. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
McZ, Ma, Me—Mi, Mo, Mu—My, Na-Ni, No-Ny, O, Pa—Pl, Po-Py, Q, 
Ra-Ri, Ro, Ru-Ry, St.-Sa, Se-Si, Sk-So, Sp-Sy, Ta-Th, Ti-Ty, 
U-V, Wa, We, Wh, Wi-Wo, Wr—Wy, X-Z. The sets of guide letters 
should be carefully written or printed near the upper outside corners 
of the pages which are assigned to them, respectively. It is also an 
easy matter to provide labeled tabs for the edges of the appropriate 
leaves so that the book may be opened, in one movement, at the pages 
containing the group of names desired. 
Under this plan Adams, for example, would be listed in the first 
group, Aa—Al; Barber would be listed in the third group, Ba; Blair 
in the fifth group, Bi-Bo; etc.. Any other alphabetical grouping 
more or less detailed than the one given above can, of course, be used. 
In general, the larger the company the more detailed should be the 
grouping. Form 5 shows a simple and convenient form for an index 
book. | 
Few existing farmers’ mutuals, as already stated, favor the card 
system so far as the policy register is concerned. For the index sys- 
tem, however, the card plan has proven fairly popular. Since it is 
rarely necessary to remove the index cards from their regular place, 
the danger of misplacement of such cards is considerably less than is 
the case with cards used as a policy register. Index cards 3 by 5 
inches in size can easily be obtained. The cards for this purpose may 
be ruled as shown in Form 6. Guide cards can also be secured with 
sets of guide letters printed thereon, similar to those suggested above. 
The guide cards should be of the so-called one-fifth cut, so that the 
tabs on the cards containing the guide letters stand in five rows across 
the card drawer and are all readily visible when the drawer is open. 
PERIODIC SUMMARIES. 
The forms described will make available, when properly used, all 
the current information necessary for the farmers’ mutual of the 
prevailing type. The provision of two more books is desirable, how- 
ever, aS a means of keeping in convenient and condensed form the 
insurance and financial history of the company. Form 7, left-hand 
page and right-hand page, provides for periodic summaries of policies 
and risks, while Form 8, left-hand page and right-hand page, pro- 
vides for similar periodic summaries of receipts and disbursements, 
together with the cash balance at the end of each period. Both forms 
may be used for daily, monthly, quarterly, and annual summaries as 
desired. | 
Some of the farmers’ mutuals at present make a complete summary 
of their business only at the end of the year, at which time, as a rule, 
a report is required by the State insurance department. Frequently 
the only form used for an office record of such summary is an extra 
. 
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