OCR Text |
Show BOOKKEEPING ON JE FARM Tho Department of Agriculture puts tho valuo ot tho chlof nocossar-Ics nocossar-Ics of llfo consumed by an arorago farm family each year at a llttlo under un-der six hundred dollars; but ovor four hundred dollars worth of theso necossarlcs la contributed by tho farm Itself, leaving only a hundred and soventyfour dollars worth to be purchased pur-chased by tho farmer. That suggests ono difficulty with tho avornga farm bookkeeping: It consists of only a cash account. A good many farmers can ten with approximate ap-proximate ntcuracy how much money mon-ey thoy received nnd paid out during n year. Tho number thnt havo oven uu approximate notion ot tho valuo of in tides consumed on tho farm Is much smaller. "I got so much for my hogs," n farmer may toll you; but If you ask what ho might havo got for tho feed thoy consumed ho nnsworB; "Oh, I raised that myself." And thoro nro still many moro far-mors far-mors who havo no clear notion as to how much cash thoy received nnd disbursed. Thoy know only how much thoy havo left at tho end of tho year. In farming, as much as In banking or railroading, good hook keoplng Is tho foundation of real economy and efficiency. Stuffing eight dollnrs worth of corn Into a pigskin nnd selling It for soven dollars dol-lars and a half Is certainly not profitable prof-itable A great amount of money Is lost yearly ift milch cows simply boiauso tho owners do not know what each qunrt of cream thoy boII has actually cost them. A propor but very slra-plo slra-plo set of books would show at onco which cows yielded a profit nnd which wero merely perambulatory corncribs. A dollar Invested In a blank book nnd a pen would bo tho best Investment Invest-ment many farmers could mako. Now York Evening Post. |