1849. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
who are not disposed to be exorbitant in the payment 
of wages, the figures and calculations presented, will 
probably be a guide to safe resolutions. It must not be 
expected that the farmer who permits stumps and rocks 
to encumber his grounds, can derive the necessary be¬ 
nefits offered by the use of the Reaper, or Seed Sower, 
or in short, any farm implement, in the same proportion 
as the farmer, who by perseverance has cleared his 
farm of these encumbering and wasteful foes. And it 
may be useful to repeat that, the very high rate of wa¬ 
ges paid in this state and country for agricultural labor, 
as compared with most other nations, ought and must 
compel us, to seek for and use every well-made, simple 
machine that can bring the produce of our fields to 
yield a profit, in some degree equal to the profils of 
other professions and trades. This can now be done 
with the implements before described, if judiciously ap¬ 
plied, and it makes good one of the principles with 
which these suggestions were started, viz:—that the 
power of a horse is equal to the power of six men, and 
by combination with farm machinery, this motor, (the 
horse) is equal to the combined efforts of twelve, or 
even twenty men in cultivating the earth. 
The subject of farm machinery need not be pursued 
farther, though many excellent implements have not 
been named,—-we may all see and understand that the 
same principles are applicable to each. 
It may be urged as an excuse for adhering to old and 
sluggish practices and habits, that the expenditure for 
the improved implements is onerous at the outset; true, 
but let us remember that extraordinary expense must 
find its limit in the value or worth of the object, and 
the statements made by me in the several communica¬ 
tions to 11 The Cultivator ,” will, it is believed, easily 
lead to the reasonable estimates of the values desired. 
And here we may as well allude to another and vast¬ 
ly important motive for the study of Order, System and 
Economy, and that is “ our expenses .” Men are very 
apt to hesitate at the price of a farm implement, but 
allow ordinary expenses to be incurred until the day of 
settlement, when an uneasy sense of surprise is mani¬ 
fested at the unexpected amount. 
This often arises from the too convenient, but too seduc¬ 
tive system of having store credits; a system of uninten¬ 
tional extravagance, which is rarely or never checked by 
the salutary, and I may say indispensable money saving 
system, of keeping an exact account of receipts and ex¬ 
penditures, from a bushel of grain to the cost of a plow- 
bolt. An easy system, by which we can see and know at 
any hour, the exact measure of our expenses—and of the 
results of our labor—by which we can with comfortable 
assurance encounter an extraordinary expense, or indulge 
our families in further ordinary comforts, while at other 
times, we can firmly deny any and every indulgence as 
our monitor, the “ Farm Book,” will most certainly in¬ 
dicate any existing necessity. In every vocation of 
life, we find men who are afraid to examine closely into 
their business accounts, and neglect them, lest melan¬ 
choly should oppress them, or that some need for unwel¬ 
come change should appear; others feel as if the plow 
handle and the reins, unfitted the hand and head for the 
methodical arrangement of this class of facts. To the 
first it must be observed that a wound most certainly 
does there exist, needing cure, and that cure cannot and 
will not be effected, but by close searching and probing. 
To the second, it will be apparent upon reflection, that 
it is as easy for the hand to record the cost of a plow 
bolt, as to calculate the value of corn when taken to 
market. It is idle, therefore, to attempt any excuse, if 
the object is useful or desirable. 
Be assured that it is not the lot of man to be profuse 
in expenses, and with the best in our land it is a truth, 
perhaps not agreeable, that, “ if we are plentiful at 
our table, we must be saving in the stable.” How then 
267 
can we establish a scale of expenditure which shall 
yield us all proper comforts, and without stint of mea¬ 
sure to our stock ?—Farm accounts, methodically, sim¬ 
ply, and plainly arranged, at least once in every week, 
will infallibly give to every farmer the reliable truth, 
be it favorable or unfavorable. It necessarily gives him 
abiding confidence in his work, or it leads him with cer¬ 
tainty to a remedy for an evil, which cannot be hidden 
from him. 
Many may here exclaim, how easy to preach, but 
how difficult to practice ! Not so, and I will endeavor 
to show that the practice is easier than preaching. 
Thus: Let the farmer have three books— 
1st. A time, hook, in which is noted daily all the work 
of his farm, and the cost of the labor thereon. 
2d. A diary, in which he writes, at least once a week, 
the expenditure and receipts of every kind and nature 
connected with his farm. 
3d. An account book, (generally called a leger,) into 
which he enters on one side all the expenses incurred 
by any particular crop or object, and on the other, 
the receipts obtained from such crop or any object. 
These entries being carried on once a week, from hi» 
diary into his account book. 
This simple arrangement will, at any moment, on 
reference to his account book, exhibit to his eye, the 
cost of any particular object, of any crop; and at the 
end of the season, if he arranges the balances of the 
several accounts in proper order, it will show him the 
profit or the loss which has attended his labors. Under 
’any circumstances of progress, or even of loss, the man 
who thus keeps a precise knowledge of his doings, must 
ever sleep soundly, and be blessed with a contented 
and happy frame of mind. He can enjoy and give en¬ 
joyment from his increasing stores ; or, if unpropitions 
seasons or events beyond his control assail him, he sees 
the full bearing of his condition, he knows at once, that 
having done his duty, he can confidently and cheerfully 
rely, knowing that adversity has its comforts and hopes, 
leading, under Providence, to greater benefits than are 
yet evident to his senses. 
As a class of men, it may, I think, be asserted, that 
none are less subject to loss than the farmer ; because 
speculation and trading, do not and ought not ever to 
interfere with his higher duties; he knows that tilling 
the earth is the most natural method for obtaining 
wealth, for it is the natural blessing bestowed by our 
mother earth, for the care and attention we proffer to 
her. The returns may be slow, but they are sure, and 
far more sweet and enduring than the gains of any bar¬ 
gaining or traffic. As a general rule, then, a farmer 
will always find pleasure and comfort in consulting his 
farm-books of account; he will inculcate a habit of ge¬ 
nerous frugality, enriching the mind as well as the 
purse. 
Without pretending to offer the best system of farm 
accounts. I venture to add the form of books I have 
seen, and which have been found satisfactory thus 
far to several Seneca county farmers. One week’s 
work is here carried through the books, and though they 
may need more explanation, yet it is hoped that suffi¬ 
cient is given to lead all our thinking farmers to a full 
comprehension of this deeply important system, with¬ 
out which no farmer can possibly know his true condi¬ 
tion. nor whether he is dealing justly with himself and 
his neighbors. 
The following forms embrace the whole work done 
on a farm during one week, from the 11th to the 16th 
June, and the actual expense for the week is-carried in 
to the diary, is charged to the separate objects and 
thence posted into the account book. At the end of 
the season, each account will show to the farmer its 
true condition, whether it be profitable or losing. 
