WHEN AND HOW TO ADVERTISE. 
Poultry-Farm Bookkeeping. 
No one thing is more important than keeping 
an account of the expenses and receipts of 
poultry work, and a carefully kept account 
would most decidedly increase the appreciation 
of that br'anch of farm work. One chief cause 
of the indifferent attention given to poultry 
on the farm is that the income from it almost 
always comes in dribblets, and the farmer, hav¬ 
ing his mind on greater things,—as for example 
marketing a lot of grain, or a bunch of fat 
steers, or a drove of hogs,—finds it not easy to 
realize that “ many mickles make a muckle.” 
If one keeps an account of the eggs received 
and poultry eaten or sold and puts against it 
the comparatively small amount expended for 
food, etc., his appreciation of the profitableness 
of the poultry would be decidedly increased. 
Keeping accounts is not at all the complicated 
and difficult matter that many farmers imagine. 
The writer’s method was simple and served the 
purpose admirably. A small and inexpensive 
blank book was purchased and two pages 
given to each month’s accounts. On the left 
hand page was entered the debits, that is, the 
sums paid out, and on the right hand page was 
entered the credits, or sums received. The 
number of eggs laid by the hens each day was 
jotted down on a calendar against each day’s 
date; at the end of the week the total 
of the eggs laid during the week was added 
up and entered in the book to the credit of the 
fowls, at the average market price of the week. 
Fowls or chicks sold were entered to the credit 
of the poultry account, and fowls or chicks 
eaten were credited at. a fair, average value. 
Each month’s totals were footed up, at the 
end of the year two pages following the Sep¬ 
tember account were used for entering the 
total amounts received and expended each 
month, which was then footed up and a balance 
struck. 
We found it a decided advantage to begin 
the poultry year October 1st, because that was 
the most convenient time for ending the account 
of the old birds and beginning the account of 
the new; obviously, however, the poultry 
account may begin with the first of any month 
of the year; it is much more important that a 
systematic account be kept than that it begin 
at one particular time or another. 
In the systematic manner outlined above the 
poultry accounts can be kept, and at the end of 
the year the farmer knows exactly what the 
poultry expenditures and receipts have been 
and how much profit the poultry has paid. 
Not the least merit of the account keep¬ 
ing is that it induces a very decided in¬ 
crease in appreciation of poultry profits. We 
know of many instances where the keeping of 
so simple an account as we have outlined has 
proved to the farmer that poultry was tde best 
paying branch of farm work; with such con¬ 
vincing proof before him the farmer would 
seem to be foolish if he did not increase that 
branch of his farm work. This is as it should 
be. We ought to work along the line of least 
resistance,—we should push the line of work 
that pays us best. The opportunities of profit 
from poultry are beyond belief,—we should only 
need to have it proved to us by clean figures to 
determine us to multiply our poultry work, 
and reap the reward in multiplied profits. 
A SAMPLE POULTRY ACCOUNT. 
DR. 
1902 
Oct. 1 To 
1902 
Grain on hand. $18.50 Oct. 3 By 
“ 5 bushels wheat, .83. 
. 4.15 
6 
“ 2 Bags cracked corn. 
. >.. 2.40 “ 
7 
“ 1 “ corn meal. 
. 1.25 
12 
“ 2 “ beef scrap. 
. 4.50 
13 
18 
“ 5 “ barley. 
. 7.25 
14 
20 
“ 1 Roll wire netting. 
. 2.65 
20 
“ 1 pound Staples. 
.15 
21 
24 
“ 5 bushels Wheat, .84. 
. 4.20 
28 
“ 3 bags cracked corn. 
. 3.60 
31 
“ Advertising . .. 
. 8.50 
22 
23 
27 
28 
$ 57.15 
CR. 
1 Chicken. $ .50 
3 Wyandotte hens. 4.50 
283 eggs at 32c . 7.56 
1 Cockerel.. . 3.00 
2 Chickens . 1.25 
301 eggs at 33c. S.28 
2 Wyandotte Cockerells. 10.00 
1 Plymouth Rock Cockerel. 4.00 
293 eggs, 34c. 8.32 
3 Wandotte Cockerels.. 9.00 
35 chickens, 12c. 24.00 
6 Hens and Cockerel. 18.00 
2 Chickens..". 1.25 
46 “ .12c. 26.80 
223eggs, 38c. 7.07 
1 Plymouth Rock Cockerel. 4.00 
$137.53 
[Xote—The item, "grain on hand ” on October 1 is due to the fact that the financial year began October 
1. Also there is three days’ egg account carried over to first entry in November, which would come Novcn. er 
4; the eggs are entered on even weeks. Editor.] 
127 
