The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1867-03-01
Farm Accounts.

The st. Louis Farmers 4drertiser has
some sensible remarks upon the subject
I Of farm accounts, together with des-
cription of farmers record and account
book, recently published in the West,
from which We take the following eH-
tract: s.- '..
"Farm accounts would differ in char
acter, materially, from mercantile ac-
counts. They should include an accu-
rate record of all the transactions con-
nected with farming, together with
debt and credit kept with every branch
of farming. The farmers accounts
should show the profit of each variety
of stock kept, of each crop raised, and
often of each field. All the labor, seed,
and every other expense should be
charged to each crop raised; and when
harvested; credit the crop at the market
value, and the balance will show the
profit or loss Of that crop.
"a memorandum should be kept of all
such matters as do not properly come
under the head of accounts, but are
matters of record or facts, as they occur;
and might embrace notes of the season,
the date of planting and of harvesting,
the time of blossoming of the fruit trees,
time of ripening, &c. A record should
be kept of misfortunes and losses, Of er-
rors and resolves, whereby the farmer
may profit from past experience. -
"The farmer has to wait so lOhg to
reap the fruit of his labor, and is sub
ject to so many vicissitudes and contin-
gencies, that there is scarcely any one
who can derive SO much benefit as he
from a careful record of his past exper-
ience and observations. There must
necessarily be long process of accounts.
but a few minutes spent at the close Of
each day in recording the transactions,
facts and observations of the day. will
thousand fold repay the trouble and
! time so spent.
"Anong the advantages of keeping
more general and systematic farm
accounts, may be mentioned the fol-
| lowing:
"It would stimulate farmers to more
correct thought in relation to their Ia
bors, and lead them to see where their
profits could be increased and their ex-
penses lesseHed.
"It would increase the farmers knowl-
edge of doing business and keeping ac-
counts, and lead him to systematize his
whole business. ,
at gives him a positive knowledge of
his own business, and assists him in
keeping out of difficulty with those
whom he has dealings.
"It enables him to decide upon those
branches of farming which pay the best,
so that he may direct his energies ac-
cOrdingly.
"By comparison of results and facts
for series of years, it gives him
judgment that. amounts to positive
knowledge as compared with the guess
work of others.
"By examining his accounts, he is
enabled to see where he has spent
money that he need not, and where he
could have saved money that he did
not.
at gives him exactly the knowledge
which is absolutely Indispensable to
enable him to make correct and just re-
turns of his revenue to the United
| States Assessor.
1T enables him more readily and cor
rectly to give in o list of his taxable
property to the county assessor, and
also to make correct and accurate re-
turn of his farm statistics when re-
quired.
at will be impossible to obtain farm
statistics correctly unless farmers gem
orally pay more attention to Keeping
accounts of their business. Compare
tiysly few farmers are prepared to give
the necessary facts and items in regard
to their farms, and hence, instead OF
fac4, estimates and guessed at conclu-
sions are obtained. 1t is plain that an
important improvement would be Sc
cured by individuals and to the State
and to the nation by the adoption
among farmers, more generally, OF
methed of systematic bookkeeping.