The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1876-01-14
farMers' Column.
Speed the PIOsC.o
The Balance Sheet.

AS class, farmers do too little hong
keeping. Many keep no accounts what.
ever. Others make their records on loose
slips of paper, or, if in q book. run them
together IN such way that IL Ia almost
impossible to find anything when il ia want.
ed. The accounts are Yery loosely kent
and are never posted into ledger Vari
Gus evils result from the neglect. One of
them may he seen in the ignorance of mapy
farmers concerning their financial copdi.
ton. Ask an average farmer how much
money he owes ON account ard he cannot
tell. Neither can he tell how much is his
due from the parties who are indebted to
him. Ask how his accounts stood the first
OF July and he will tell you that he dix
not look them up, and consequ ently can
not tell. Ask how they stood the last tim
ne balanced his books, and he will say ths
he never balanced them-too many would
be obliged to own that they had no books
to balance.
This is all wrong. When business 10
done in this way there is no accurate know
ledge OF its results. All that the farmer
can do under such circumstances is to
guess" that he does or does not receive
fair rate OF interest on the capital invested,
and pay for the work which he performs.
The merchant posts his books eyely :hree
or Six months. BY doing this he knows how
his business is running. For him this
work is necessity. But strangely enough
the majority of farmers see no need ofmak-
ing any careful records of their business.
From neglect of keeping accounts the
farmer is not only in doubt respecting his
financial condition, but he is also constant
ly liable to lose thereby. When he has
frequently dealings with neighbor, let
ting him have a few bushels of grain, or
few eggs, and negects to make a written
charge of the goods, lie is very likely to
forget some of the items altogether, and
the quantity and price of the others. I'm
less the buyer proves to be better book.
keeper than the seller, and keeps both sides
OF the account, many things will be forgot
ten and never paid for. Ifthe buyer should
prove dishonest, and refuse TO pay him,
how is the seller to compel settlement {
If he has no book TO carry into court. no
written accounts to which he can make
oath, what remedy can he have if The buy
er declines to pay But supposing the
buyer is strictly honest, but keeps no re-
| cord of the articles he has, because he ex-
poets the seller will have regard enough
for his own interest to keep the account,
what is to be done 2 Neither party can tell
from memory after an account has run six
months, what articles have been had or the
price for which they were sold. The buy
er will not want, and ought not, to pay
for things which he has never had, and
there is no accurate way in which to de-
termine what lie has bought. Some things
will be remembered, but great many will
be forgotten. Again. if a man who has
considerable business with his neighbors,
dies and leaves no account his estate can
not be settled without loes. No one knows
what he has sold or to whom sales have
been made. So, not only for the convent
ence Of knowing how he stands with the
world and in order to conduct his business
probably while he lives, but also to keep
his family from loss when he is gone, the
farmer should keep an accurate record Of
all his business transactions. If it is at
tended to at the proper time, it is no great
amount Of work to do this. At the close
of each day only few minutes will he re
quired t" make proper record of its bust
ness.
For ordinary farm accounts only two
books will he required-a day book and
ledger. These every farmer ought to
have. In the day-book all business trans
actions should be recorded. Everything
sold should he charged to the buyers and
everything bought credited to the parties
of whom it was purchased. All trades and
exchanges, with their terms and cond-
tions, should be noted, and also all sales or
purchases for cash. In the ledger a page
should be given to each man with whom
business dealings are had, and once II week
or fortnight the charges in the day hook
should be copied into the ledger-each
mans account appearing on the page de-
voted to him, so that by reference to his
page, each mans account, both debtor and
creditor, can be seen at glance. The
first of January and first of July, ifnot
once in three months, both sides OF the ac-
count should be added and the less sub
tracted from the greater. Then, on each
page on which an account has been COM
menced, a new entry should he made, debt
or or creditor as the case may be, "to bal
ance on account" When the accounts are
thus balanced they show at a glance which
party is the debtor and for how much
And by bringing the several balances to-
gether the farmer can tell how much he
owes and also how much is his due.
Once in six months, or, at the very long.
est, once year, the farmer should take a
complete inventory OF every thing he owns.
The cash value of the farm, stock, tools,
hay, grain, ETC., should be entered in the
ledger and added. The liabilities should
also be added and balance struck. The
farmer will then have balance sheet which
will show him how much he is worth, If
anything and if not, how deeply he is in
debt BY comparing one balance sheet
with that of a previous year he will he
able to tell whether he is making or losing
money, and how fast.
Those who have KEEP. their accounts In
times past will need no encouragement to
continue. And those who have thus far
neglected this work will find the present
good time to begin. Let them take an
inventory, look up their accounts, and
herceforth keep their books in business
like manner.-Lipe Stock Journal.