each class of animals and will give a much better working knowledge of the farm business. The farm feed used should be recorded frequently enough at least so that a statement can be made at the end of the year, showing approximately the amount of feed given the various classes of animals.

145. Labor Records. Labor records, also, are useful in determining the approximate costs of the produce grown. Figure D gives a form which may be used for the purpose. The form shown is for the enterprise "Corn" on Field B." The

FIG. E.-Form for a weekly milk record. Such records help to detect the cows that do not pay for their feed, and encourage better care for those that do.

same form can be used for keeping the labor record on oats, wheat, live stock or any other farm enterprise. The entries are made daily for the operation performed, serving as a calendar to show the work on crops as well as giving the hours of horse and man labor used in working the land. At the end of the year the rate per hour for horse and man labor for the farm can be determined and the cost of the labor on each crop readily calculated from the footings.

146. Production Records. There are greater profits to be made from animals that yield a large amount of product than from those yielding smaller amounts. For this reason produc

tion records, especially of the dairy cows, are advisable. The milk record sheet shown in Figure E is meant to cover a period of one week. Similar blank forms can be obtained that cover a period of one month. The difficulty of keeping clean, a large sheet of this kind, in the barn for a month is so great, however, that most people prefer the record covering only one week. Mistakes in addition are not so likely to be made in footing up the weekly records. The totals for the week can be carried to a summary sheet where the total for each cow for the year can easily be shown. On the weekly sheet the butter fat test of each cow should be shown also if the test is made weekly. Where it is made only once a month or so it can be entered on the summary sheet when the monthly records are made up. The individual cow record showing the amount of product given each day is advisable not only because it gives a knowledge of just what each cow is doing, but because it encourages the caretaker to give better care to the cows than he would if the records were not known. Correct feeding is based also on the amount of product given. Most milkers who record at each milking, the amount given, are more careful to milk clean and to endeavor to build up the yield of milk than are those who keep no records.

Figure F shows a form of poultry production record which, if kept, will show the total eggs produced each month and for the year. From this the average eggs per hen can easily be determined. Other forms of production records may be devised to meet special cases. They should be encouraged where keeping them does not entail too much labor. The feed, labor and produce records are very essential to a full understanding of the year's business.

147. Receipt File. In paying bills it is well always to take a receipt for the payment made. Either a regular receipt form may be used, or the itemized bill upon which is written "Paid," giving the date and the signature of the person or firm receiving the payment. These receipts should be kept for a

reasonable length of time and for convenience in finding can well be filed in an alphabetically indexed paper box file. Where

Poultry Production Record, 191–

To. of hend

Date Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug Sept Oct. Nov. Dec.

2

3

4

5

6

1

8

9

May

Remarks.

FIG. F.-A yearly record of the egg production is useful in determining the income from the flock.

the accounts are with only a few individuals or firms, the receipts may be pasted on the pages of an indexed book where

they can readily be referred to, each individual or firm having a page. Itemized bills thus receipted often prove useful as a source of information on prices paid or as estimates for further supplies.

EXERCISES FOR PUPILS

1. Secure suitable paper and rule up forms for the cash receipts and expenditures. Keep a record for the balance of the term of the cash transactions at your home. Make special columns and distribute the expense and receipts over the following enterprises: Household, General, Personal, Cattle, Poultry, Other Live Stock, Crops. Find how much the receipts exceed the expenses on the different enterprises and learn which are likely to prove most profitable.

2. Keep a record of the eggs gathered daily for a month. Count the number of hens in the flock and find the average number of eggs laid per hen for the month. Compare with records kept by other pupils.

3. Have the pupil getting the largest average record tell how the poultry at his home is cared for.

REFERENCES

Farm Records and Accounts.- Boss and Peck.

Farm Bookkeeping.-Farmers' Bulletin No. 511, United States Department of Agriculture.

Farm Accounts.-J. A. Vye.

*Note.-This chapter is not intended as a text in teaching farm records.

The princi

ples only are discussed and forms suggested for useful records. A special edition of Boss & Peck's Farm Records and Accounts has been prepared for those desiring a text. lt, with suitable data for the records, can be secured at a nominal price through the publishing houses.

CHAPTER XVI

LAND TENURE

148. How Land is Acquired. The use of land may be acquired in two ways: (1) by ownership; (2) by rental. The form of rental varies with localities and systems of farming, but may be either cash or share. Sometimes combination cash and share rental is followed. The question is always before the farmer as to whether it is best for him to own the land or rent it. If he rents the land, which system offers the greatest advantages? These questions cannot be answered to cover all conditions and localities. It has been generally assumed that ownership tended toward the best returns from the land. It is a fact, however, that the best farming in the world probably, is carried on under a rental system. Much of the high priced land of Great Britain and of France is tilled by renters. The farming is intensive and the returns are very high. The advantages to the tillers of the soil in these cases lie in their ability to rent at a low figure. The owners of the land are satisfied to take their returns in "added nobility," which comes from owning land in these countries and from receiving the speculative value accruing in the rise of land. Whether it is best to own or rent, can be determined approximately by careful calculations of the probable crops and products to be grown and comparing these figures with the probable cost of growing them, and with the receipts that may be obtained from the market at hand.

It has been generally assumed by the American farmer that he should own his land. Encouragement has been given to this idea by the fact that through the Homestead Act and others, looking toward the settlement of the land, he has been able to secure possession of the land at low cost. Land values