n>i4. 
THB RURAL. N tC \\' - V 01R K a, JR 
2©7 
Farm Management. 
KEEPING FARM ACCOUNTS. 
If observation and investigation con¬ 
ducted over a period of 30 years are 
worth much it will indicate that not over 
one farmer in one hundred has any sys¬ 
tematic method of keeping his accounts. 
Occasionally I have found one who keeps 
account of his receipts. lie may possi¬ 
bly keep a record of the amount he pays 
his hired man, or the contractor ou his 
new barn, but the chances are that he 
does not. When the day of final settle¬ 
ment comes there is argument and dis¬ 
agreement, and sometimes a lawsuit. I 
was recently called to help settle a dis¬ 
pute between a farmer and a contractor 
over the building of a barn. A contract 
had been written in which wages by the 
day at $1.75 to $2.50 were mentioned, 
but no classification of the workmen was 
made, and the contract price of $345 for 
the building of the barn, which is 44x70 
feet with nine-foot basement and 18-foot 
superstructure and a curb roof was also 
mentioned; possibly with the idea of mak¬ 
ing it optional with one of the parties 
to make a choice, but no choice was men¬ 
tioned, and neither party had signed the 
contract. A set of blue prints were made 
and the work was done very nearly as 
indicated by the prints. The carpenters 
did some extra work and the farmer and 
his sons assisted the carpenters to some 
extent. Some changes were made in the 
original verbal agreement. The farmer 
advanced money to the contractor until 
be considered that with the work he had 
done he had paid fully enough, but the con¬ 
tractor considered that he had done much 
extra work that had not yet been recom¬ 
pensed, so he threatened suit. Neither 
one had kept any book accounts. Each 
depended on his memory for necessary 
data. The case was so complicated that 
the attorneys consulted felt that a com¬ 
promise would be the best method of set¬ 
tlement, and three carpenters of wide ex¬ 
perience were called in to assist. After 
a careful examination of the building 
and without any consultation each placed 
his estimate on a slip of paper and the 
three estimates were within $21 of varia¬ 
tion. A settlement was soon effected. 
Had each kept an account a settlement 
might have been effected with less trouble. 
Now that each person must present the 
details of his income for the inspection 
■ if the Internal Revenue collector for the 
purpose of satisfying the income tax law 
it is absolutely necessary that everyone 
should be prepared to give exact figures, 
and these can be obtained in no other way 
except by the careful keeping of ac¬ 
counts. The Internal Revenue agent who 
will accept mere guesswork in this mat¬ 
ter more than one year is absolutely un¬ 
fitted for the office he holds. The man 
who does not have complete records on 
which to base his report will be found 
making oath to a falsehood. Let no 
farmer, or for that matter let no man 
who desires to be classed among honest 
and patriotic citizens, be without a per¬ 
fect set of account books carefully posted 
for the year 1914. 
The writer has been keeping careful 
accounts for more than 40 years and it 
was the work of only a few hours for him 
to fill out his statement to the revenue 
agent, for the exact figures were available 
for the purpose. 
I know two brothers who lived on ad¬ 
joining farms and exchanged work more 
or less for several years. Finally they 
decided to setle up the accounts, which 
were recorded on the tablets of the mem¬ 
ory only, and each accused the other of 
dishonesty. It lead to an estrangement 
that has never been healed- This should 
not have occurred if each had made 
it a rule to record the date of each trans¬ 
action with the character and value. My 
books have saved the necessity of paying 
a number of bills the second time. One 
merchant sent me a statement of several 
purchases which he alleged I had made, 
and it became necessary for me to show 
him from my books that I was not in 
the city on the dates he gave. Neither 
was any member of the family in the city 
on those dates. Another sent a state¬ 
ment of account and I had to show him 
his receipt for payment of the identical 
bill. A carefully kept set of accounts j 
will save any man money every year of i 
hiS life. JOHN L. SHAWVEB. 
Make You 
THE FARMERS’ CEMENT TILE MACHINE 
Makes tile 3 to 8 inches in diam., 1234 inches long. One man or bov operates it by hand 
or power. 500 tile per day by hand, 1,200 by power. Tile thoroughly cured by patent 
process. No tamping or use of pallets. This machine and tile used by Experiment Sta- 
tions of Agricultural Colleges and the U. S. Dept, of Agriculture. 5,000 farmers have 
doubled the yield of land by underdrainage, and saved 75% of cost by using our Machine 
A*i 0U *£ an 5° same * Save cost of hauling and breaking. Make perfect 
tile $3 to $5 per thousand. MACHINE SOLD DIRECT FROM FACTORY 
TO\OU. TEN DAYS’FREE TRIAL. SEND NOW for 36-page Illustrated 
Catalogue. Tells you about great benefits of underdrainage, how to take 
levels and get grades, make and lay your tile at low cost. 
FARMERS’ CEMENT TILE MACHINE CO.. 
Box 604 • ST. JOHNS. MICH. 
HELPS KEEP A HAND 
A ridiog plow looks good to a farm hand and yon can 
turn any walking 
plow into a sulky 
with a 
INNER 
PLOW 
TRUCK 
Write today for our 
special introductory 
_ prlc# in new terri¬ 
tory. Get the truck. Give it 10 Days* Use. 
If you are not satisfied return the truck. 
We will return your inonoy and pay all the freight. 
Put it up to us to please you. Do it today/ 
T Mfg. Co., Box C, Cortland, N. Y.« 
Saving You $220 
On Reo the Fifth 
This year we offer you a saving 
of $220—of 16 per cent. 
The 1913 Reo the Fifth sold for 
$1 ,395, completely equipped, in¬ 
cluding electric starter. This 
years’ car, even better equipped, 
sells for $1,175. 
Tires and electric starters both 
cost less this year. But most of 
this saving comes through factory 
policy. 
Three years ago Mr. R. E. Olds 
built this great chassis as his final 
car. And he said that it marked 
his limit. Many thousands of 
these cars have been sold since 
then, and against each car we 
made a charge to cover all the 
machinery we bought to build 
this car. 
Now that investment has been 
all wiped out. We now figure 
only factory cost, and the saving 
goes to our buyers. That is one 
result of building one perfect car 
and confining our output to it. 
line body, which is now European 
vogue. This beautiful body is the 
coming type. The angle dash is 
going. 
We use the best equipment 
made for electric starting and 
lighting In every way the car’s 
equipment is modern and com¬ 
plete The finish is perfect. The 
upholstery deep and rich. 
And this car alone has the one- 
rod control. No levers in the 
driver’s way. 
A Costly Car 
Reo the Fifth is famous as an 
honest car. It is built throughout 
in a careful, costly way. We add 
in these ways to the necessary cost 
about $200 per car. 
The steel is twice analyzed. Our 
materials are made to formula. 
Our gears are tested in a mam¬ 
moth crushing machine. Each 
driving part, as a margin of safety, 
is given 50 per cent over-capacity. 
Each engine gets five long and 
radical tests. Close-fitting parts 
are ground over and over to give 
utter exactness. Nothing is ever 
hurried 
We use 15 roller bearings. We 
use 190 drops forgings to avoid 
risk of flaws. 
Cars of this model are kept run¬ 
ning night and day, covering 
thousands of miles, to reveal any 
possible weakness. 
The result is the utmost in a 
well-built car. An almost trouble- 
proof car. Small cost of up-keep. 
A car built to run for years and 
years as well as it runs when new. 
No car in this class compares 
with Reo the Fifth for a man who 
buys a car to keep. Thousands 
of men now know this. 
Sold by a thousand dealers. 
Write for name of nearest dealer. 
Also for catalog. 
Reo Motor Car Company, Lansing, Mich. 
Canadian Factory, St. Catharines, Ont. Canadian Price, $1,575. 
( 228 ) 
Streamline Body 
Electric Starter 
This year we adopt the stream- 
Reo the Fifth 
Summer Series 
Now $1,175 
New-Style Body 
Electric Lights 
Electric Starter 
Electric Horn 
One-Rod Control 
30 • 35 h. p. 
Tires 34 x 4 
Also Roadster 
Nothing takes the place of accuracy 
Selection 
The “Natural** drop 
This machine maintains 
high accuracy even with 
ordinary seed. With well 
selected seed its dropping 
accuracy is practically 
perfect. 
Make your spring planting the start of 
biggest com crop by accurate dropping. 
John . Deere ‘‘Oblique Selection” will do it. 
machine is a splendid investment. 
M AKE your corn ground pay you with the larj 
sibleyield, by making sure that the requirec 
of kernels is in each hill. 
;est pos- 
number 
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The seed must be there. Every “miss” means just that 
much thinner stand. No amount of cultivation can make 
up for inaccurate planting. The loss of one ear from every 
hundred hills costs you the price of one bushel per acre. 
l*or years the John Deere Company has concentrated on 
accuracy in planting devices. The “Oblique Selection” 
solves the problem. 
The results of its use are so profitable that many corn 
growers have discarded the best of previous machines. It is 
as far ahead of the old Edge Drop as it was ahead of the 
round hole plate. 
Valuable Corn Facts 
Write us today for free booklet “More and Better Corn”. 
It tells you why the average yield for the United States is 
only 25 bushels an acre, whereas better methods have pro¬ 
duced 125, 175 and even 255 bushels per acre in places. It 
also.describes and illustrates the John Deere “Oblique Selec¬ 
tion” Com Planter. The book to ask for is No. D 33 
John Deere, Moline, Illinois 
