1914. 
THE RTJRA.lv NEW-YORKER 
1371 
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The Wife as Bookkeeper. 
it/'AUR farm acount books were 
bought at the five and 10-cent 
store, and cost us only a quarter,” says 
Mrs. William Elwell of Otsego Coun¬ 
ty, New York. “These books are guide 
posts in our home finances. The effort 
is small and bookkeeping is fascinating. 
We know where we are at financially, 
and keeping books has been dollars and 
cents value. My system may be crude; 
I am not familiar with practices of the 
bookkeeper, but my husband and myself 
are satisfied with our system. It shows 
us just how we stand with the poultry, 
the two cows, the household expenses, the 
receipts from the mail route, and the ex¬ 
penditures in maintaining the little place, 
feeding the horse, keeping the wagon in 
shape, and shows us how much we have 
ahead at the end of the month, and the 
end of the year. Here is where farmers 
fail to notice their leaks in the absence 
of a system of bookkeeping. 
“Here is the account of our two cows,” 
Mrs. Elwell said as she turned the pages 
to the month of March. “This is what 
the merchant would call a ledger. On 
the left side of the page I have charged 
all feed against the cows, and on the 
right I have credited them with l-eceipts 
for milk from my customer's, for butter 
sold, and as receipts were light this 
month, after giving the cows credit for 
fertilizer', and for milk that we have used 
this month we have lost 78 cents. My 
principle of bookkeeping is this: Set 
down the expenses on the left hand of 
the middle line of the ledger page, plac¬ 
ing the dollars and cents in their proper 
column, and on the right hand the cre¬ 
dits, and I balance at the end of the 
month, this showed where we stand with 
the cows. I keep accounts for the hens 
each month in the same manner, and I 
know just what they do for us. My hus¬ 
band has a mail route and I keep ac¬ 
count of the income, and charge against 
it the shoeing of the horse, the horse 
feed and such expenses as might be 
charged against his work. 
“Here is what our cows did last year. 
We have only a small lot and are com¬ 
pelled to buy our feed. They paid us 
profit of $73, and we dried one cow too 
quickly. We had ISO hens and for that 
year we made $140 profit. These figures 
may look small to some who figure re¬ 
ceipts as profits, and then reach blindly 
into their purses to meet expenses. We 
could go further in keeping our house¬ 
hold accounts, and charge interest on in¬ 
vestment, labor charge, and charge for 
hired labor, were we operating a farm. 
We look at it this way: the laboring 
man has nothing ahead at the end of the 
year when he pays his house-rent and 
maintains his family, and at present we 
are not charging against the cows and 
poultry the labor charge. Yet improve¬ 
ment in quality of stock repays us for 
labor. 
“We started bookkeeping when first 
married. My husband and myself dis¬ 
cussed our prospects. We figured our 
annual receipts would be small, as he was 
at that time working by the day. We be¬ 
gan keeping strict account that we might 
live inside our income, and this has been 
followed. I am the bookkeeper, and it 
has kept us from living beyond our in¬ 
come, over-checking our bank account, of 
spending too recklessly on our poultry and 
cows. We have learned a lesson which 
if we carry out later on more land will 
mean the elimination of the scrub cow 
and the scrub hen, and the unprofitable 
crop. Bookkeeping is not hard; get 
some books and go at it and keep at it. 
Keep the books handy so every penny re¬ 
ceived or expended can be readily jotted 
down in columns so they may be totalled 
at the end of each month, then keep it 
up. It will then become a habit, and a 
habit that pays.” W. J. 
The Housewives’ League and Prices. 
HE article in the October number of 
The Ladies’ Home Journal “I will 
see,” by Mrs. Julian Heath, President 
of The National Housewives’ League, 
should be of interest to farmers. In the 
main Mrs. Heath’s statements are sound, 
having reason and sense behind them, but 
her ideas concerning prices for produce 
seem to me in some instances slightly 
awry. Mrs. Heath says: 
In December, 1912, I read that the ap¬ 
ple crop of the United States amounted 
to more than forty million barrels, one 
of the largest crops in our history. The 
quality was excellent. Prices were the 
lowest in years, and people who never 
ate apples before could have their fill. 
But were they having their fill? Not 
much. The apple was an expensive lux¬ 
ury. Inquiries of farmers brought hun¬ 
dreds of letters saying they would be 
glad to sell the acreage run of apples at 
twenty-fire cents a barrel. Even the 
most expensive graded apples were of¬ 
fered at one dollar a box. 
In the market apples were selling at 
$2.25 a barrel, and the No. 2 grade for 
$1.50 and $1.75. 
These prices do not seem to me exor¬ 
bitant. As for apples at 25 cents a bar¬ 
rel, that is ridiculous. We have to pay 
80 cents for a barrel in which to put 
the apples. When we consider the cost 
of picking, packing and shipping, it is 
plain to us that the farmer (in the Mid¬ 
dle States at least) should never receive 
less than 50 centi a bushel for good ap¬ 
ples. Poor apples are not worth the 
handling. The Housewives’ League 
should consider this side of the question. 
I believe, however, they are always will¬ 
ing to give the farmer a fair profit. 
In regard to eggs, for example, I ven¬ 
ture to assert that eggs should never, 
even when most plentiful, sell for less 
than 25 or 30 cents a dozen to allow the 
producer a fair profit. To lay well, 
chickens must be fed carefully and lav¬ 
ishly. They have a remarkable capacity 
for grain and feed is high in price. For 
several months in the year chickens do 
not lay at all, but they continue to have 
excellent appetites. When eggs go up to 
40, 50 or 60 cents a dozen, the consum¬ 
er grows angry and determines to do 
something. lie should remember that the 
farmer who deals directly with the con¬ 
sumer is only making up his losses when 
the price of eggs goes up. He who deals 
with the middleman would better give up 
producing eggs and sell his feed. 
You may think this letter is written 
entirely from the farmer’s point of view. 
This is far from the truth, for we are 
in a position to know the producer’s as 
well as the consumer’s side. My hus¬ 
band is an office man working for a large 
corporation. He hates indoor work and 
loves the country and the open air life. 
To console himself he raises chickens 
and plants fruit on every available spot 
on our acre of land. This year we have 
had from our place about 30 bushels of 
apples, 25 bushels of excellent potatoes, 
bushels of grapes—not counted—rhubarb, 
plums, and many vegetables from our 
garden plot. I forgot to mention a won¬ 
derful crab apple tree which supplies us 
and all our neighbors with all the jelly 
we want. The chickens have been a 
paying investment because we have a 
large family and use eggs in abundance. 
We have been able to supply the family 
needs and to sell a few eggs besides. It 
will be seen, therefore, that we can sym¬ 
pathize with both the consumer and the 
producer. Lot me say in conclusion that 
my husband is a great admirer of The 
R. N.-Y. and of the Hope Farm man, 
whose page he always reads first. 
New Jersey. m. l. a. 
Pin Money Puzzles. 
EUGAi: LIVING.— How can we live 
comfortably and respectably without 
spending such enormous sums of money? 
That is the query heard in almost every 
household. The question is not difficult 
to answer. It is nothing more nor less 
than realizing the difference between our 
wants and our needs. Don't spend money 
for trifles. Save your money for big 
things and do without the little ones. 
There are numberless housewives who 
have not yet learned that the most excit¬ 
ing game in life is in getting two hun¬ 
dred cents worth of goods for one little, 
lone dollar. That is what we call “right 
buying.” It doubles the capacity of your 
income. You feel as though you were a 
member of the board of trade. When 
pineapples are a glut on the market then 
is your time to buy. If there is a cut- 
price sale in dry goods lay in a supply 
of staples—not trash. Make one dollar 
do the work of two; that’s the secret. I 
have the greatest admiration for the girl 
who cau keep .a tight rein on her pocket- 
book, yet have good food and proper cloth¬ 
ing. The word “capable” seems to just 
stick out all over her. Self-denial is one 
of her virtues. Thrift is founded on self- 
denial. 
The Grocer’s Bill. —Some years ago, 
when living was “easy,” we were at a 
family dinner when the subject of “gro¬ 
cery bills” came up. One of the cousins 
told how his wife was able to set a 
good table for four and still keep the 
expenses within one hundred dollars. 
When it came the hostess’s turn to “com- 
fess” she put her hand over her eyes and 
said: “I’m ashamed to tell how much 
our grocery bill is for a year.” We gave 
her to understand that there was to be 
no backsliding. “Well,” she said, “to be 
exact, it was $29.63 for the last year.” 
We fairly shrieked at her. “Tell us how 
you did it.” Then she gave us an out¬ 
line of her plans. Her husband supplied 
the flour and meat, and she furnished 
the groceries, bought all the clothing for 
herself and two little boys with the but¬ 
ter and egg money. 8he knew the value 
of a good garden, and they never had to 
buy a vegetable of any sort. She took 
advantage of right buying. Early in the 
Spring when prices were low and the 
hens were busy she laid in a year’s sup¬ 
ply of sugar. Then in January she took 
advantage of the cut prices in muslins 
and saved a few dollars. They were 
renters on a farm, and she saw it was 
up to her to make a start to save for a 
home. She worked hai\Yr than ever, cut¬ 
ting out all her Summer reading but the 
farm paper, so she could have more time 
to devote to her poultry. Then she sold 
milk, butter, lard, berries and finally 
some vegetables. After a few mouths 
she had her business as well organized as 
any merchant, and it was no more trou¬ 
ble for her to put three or four dollars in 
the bank every week than it was to wash 
the dishes. In seven years she had saved 
one thousand dollars. Now at the end 
of six years more she has saved another 
thousand. This with her husband’s in¬ 
heritance will pay for their home. They 
had good food and good clothing and the 
boys had a common school education, and 
they are much happier and more content¬ 
ed than if they had spent that two thou¬ 
sand on a myriad little things and done 
without a home. 
Teaching Self-Denial. —Not long 
ago I saw a man and his little son come 
into a grocery store. Both were dressed 
with the best possible taste. The little 
son handed the grocer a nickel for some 
candy. 
“What,” said the father. “Spend all 
your money for candy? Then you will 
have none left. Get only three sticks of 
candy and you will have two cents to 
keep in your pocket.” The arrangement 
delighted the boy, for by it he had both 
money and candy. He also had a lesson 
in self-denial that would stay with him 
through life. Children are allowed to 
spend money too thoughtlessly. Teach 
a child to ponder over in Lis mind wheth¬ 
er he needs a thing or if he only wants 
it. 
A Girl’s Savings. —I know several 
girls who are school teachers who make 
it a rule to lay away one-half of their 
wages. Even the small sum of one 
hundred and fifty dollars a year saved 
and put in the bank will give a girl a 
feeling of security, as well as bright vis¬ 
ions for the future. One of these girls 
was married a few years ago, and she 
had $600 laid up from her school money. 
Isn’t that interesting? Besides, she had 
dressed well, bought a good piano and 
several nice pieces of furniture, and had 
as good times as any girl. Now she has 
her home nicely furnished and she and 
her husband manage to save one-third of 
his wages every month. Her baby girl, 
a year old, is clad in rompers made from 
the lower part of the father’s percale 
shirts. This is the kind of thrift that 
counts. It buys the coal, it pays for 
some little luxury for the Sunday dinner, 
and it will in time pay off the mortgage 
on the home. 
Making And Saving. —Doubtless 
many of you are saying, “that isn’t tell¬ 
ing us hoxc to make money.” but it is. 
“A penny saved is a penny earned.” I 
believe there is something that each one 
of us can do—something peculiarly our 
own—at which we can be successful in 
earning our own independent spending 
money. If we will only study the situa¬ 
tion and find out what is wanted, what 
everybody is clamoring for, then that is 
the thing to do, and do it well. Now 
that old-fashioned quilts are in style 
again many women are making quite an 
addition to their income by taking orders 
and making these beautiful old-fashioned 
bed coverings. Personally. I love this 
work and have made three of these of the 
sewed-on kind for one customer. For an 
average block 25 cents is charged; this 
includes setting the quilt together and 
putting on a border. Then if one can 
quilt this brings tbe price of one quilt up 
close to $15. Whatever you engage in 
you must work systematically. Have a 
plan and stick to it. Every worker has 
need to watch up the fractional currency 
of time just as much as a school teacher 
does. Work on schedule time and don’t 
let one thing crowd out another. You 
can’t make housekeeping easy—or if you 
could what would it amount to? The 
easy things are not given a reward of 
merit for their doing. 
IDA M. JACKSON. 
The Netherlands will have five acres 
at the Panama Exposition for the display 
of bulbs and rare garden flowers. There 
is to be a prize of $1,000 for the best 
variety of rose originated and exhibited 
at the exposition. Japan will have the 
most extensive display she has ever pre¬ 
sented at a universal exhibition. She 
will send 150 tons of rare Japanese trees 
and shrubs for transplanting. One of 
the noted features at the exposition will 
be a beautiful statue typifying the pion¬ 
eer women of California, by the famous 
sculptor Charles Grafly. The idea was 
originated by the Woman’s Board of the 
Exposition, but the execution of the plan 
was given to the Pioneer Mother Monu¬ 
ment Association who raised the $25.- 
000 necessary for the project. The school 
children of California were among the 
first to contribute to the fund, sending in 
pennies or nickels, the latter being the 
largest amount any one child could give. 
