Temperance-abstinence. Untruth-lie-falsehood. Whither-where.

Temerity-rashness.

Temper-humor.

Unavoidable-inevitable. Waver-hesitate-fluctuate. Zealous-enthusiastic.

Understand-comprehend. Weak-infirm.

Zealot-bigot.

A Concise and Comprehensive Explanation of both Single and Double Entry.

Becessity and Advantages of a Knowledge of Book-Keeping.

THE object of Book-keeping is to exhibit a distinct and correct state of one's affairs, and to enable companies, firms, and individuals to ascertain at any time the nature and extent of their business, the amount of their profits or available income, or, as the case may be, the extent of their losses.

The necessity for a knowledge of Book-keeping is not confined to those engaged in business. There is no class of men who can afford to dispense with it, since all are called upon to handle money and keep accounts of greater or less magnitude. It is not sufficient for a man to say, "I do not understand book-keeping myself, but I can employ a book-keeper who will know everything necessary." Such a man places himself at the mercy of his employé, and is liable to be continually deceived by false entries, fraudulent balances, and in various ways which a skilful and unscrupulous accountant can avail himself of. It is the merchant's first duty to be thoroughly informed in all branches of his business, so that he may not only direct it, but also be competent to detect and expose error and fraud, and to know at any moment his exact business standing. It is not too much, therefore, to assert that book-keeping should constitute an essential part of the education of every young man and woman. The possession of such knowledge will the more thoroughly prepare them for the great struggle of life, and enable them to earn a fair and honorable livelihood by the employment of their skill.

It is not to be expected that every one can become a first-class book-keeper any more than that every one can become a great artist, but it is possible for all to obtain such a knowledge of the essential principles of book-keeping as will

enable them to keep an ordinary set of books accurately and with credit to themselves.

To those engaged in trade or commercial pursuits, or who expect to enter upon them, book-keeping is absolutely necessary, as by it all transactions should be regulated and their results exhibited. The more simple the system the better; but care must be taken that the plan adopted is sufficiently comprehensive and explanatory to satisfy not only the person keeping the books, but those who may have occasion to refer to them; for however satisfactory it may be to a merchant to follow a system which is intelligible to himself alone, circumstances might arise to render the inspection of others necessary, and from their inability to follow out the transactions in the books, suspicions would probably be engendered for which there was no real foundation. Hence the necessity for the adoption of certain recognized and approved systems, which, being plain and easily understood, must prove satisfactory to all concerned.

Book-keeping, when conducted on sound principles, is invaluable; it not only shows the general results of a commercial career, but admits of analysis, by which the success or failure, the value or utter worthlessness of its component parts, or each particular transaction, can be easily ascertained. In a word, on the one hand it promotes order, regularity, fair dealing, and honorable enterprise; on the other it defeats dishonesty, and preserves the integrity of man when dealing with his fellows.

The Proper System to be Adopted.

The questions to which a satisfactory system gives the merchant ready and conclusive answers are such as relate-1. To the extent to which his capital and credit will entitle him to transact business; 2. To the assurance he has that all his obligations are honestly fulfilled; 3. To the ascertainment of the success or failure of his commercial dealings, and the position of his affairs from time to time.

There are two recognized systems of book-keeping, namely, by "Single Entry" and by "Double Entry." Although the system of "Single Entry has nearly passed out of use, it will be well to glance at it before passing on to the other and more generally used system of "Double Entry."

The System of Single Entry.

This is a clumsy and awkward way of keeping books, and is used only by the smallest traders. It is little better than the old time plan of keeping accounts on a slate, and erasing them when paid. The system is denoted by the name : transactions being posted singly, or only once, in the Ledger. Three books are generally kept-the Cash Book, Day Book, and Ledger, although the first named is not essential, the cash entries being passed through the Day Book. Its only use is to check the balance of cash in hand.

In the Day Book are entered daily all the purchases and sales, whether for

cash or credit; and all the credit entries are then transferred to accounts opened m the Ledger, that is, all goods sold on credit are charged against the customers, and what are purchased are carried to the credit of the parties supplying them. In the same way when cash is received from a customer for goods sold on credit, it is posted to his account, and the reverse entry is made when a merchant pays for the goods he has bought. Thus it will be seen that only personal accounts are entered in the Ledger.

The Balance Sheet by Single Entry.

To frame a balance sheet or state of affairs on this system, the book-keeper brings down the balances due by customers to the merchant, also his stock of goods as valued by the last inventory taken at current market prices, and the cash he may have in hand, on the left-hand side of the sheet; whilst on the righthand side of the sheet he enters the balances still due by him for goods he has purchased, or money lent to him, and the capital, if any, with which he commenced business The amounts on each side of the sheet are then added and proved, and the difference between the amounts of the two columns is either profit or loss; if profit, the merchant's capital is increased to that extent; loss, then he is so much the poorer.

Specimen of a Balance Sheet by Single Entry.

The following "Specimen of a Balance Sheet by Single Entry " will make plain the working and ultimate results of the system:

It will be observed that the assets exceed the liabilities (including capital) $4,362.60. That sum being profit must be added to the capital; if in the Dext or following years any loss should emerge, as a matter of course such defi ciency must be deducted from the merchant's capital, as he is that much poorer ban when he opened the year.

The advantages of single entry are simplicity and easy adaptation to small retail trades, as the Ledger contains only outstanding debts due to or by the

merchant. The disadvantage is the difficulty of ascertaining the profits or losses on various goods, or on the several departments of a business.

The System of Double Entry.

It is now universally admitted that the "System of Double Entry" is the best adapted for heavy, responsible, or speculative trades, and for extensive mercantile concerns. As its name implies, it so far differs from the system already described, that every transaction must be recorded doubly in the Ledger; that is to say, accounts must be opened in that book, to which all entries in the subsidiary books are twice carried—to the debit of one account, and the credit of another.

The advantages of this system may be briefly stated as follows: 1. Unless the debit balances exactly correspond with the credit balances the books are wrong, and the error must be discovered by comparison. 2. The discovery of such errors is more easily accomplished than in any other system. 3. Accounts can be readily analyzed. 4. The profit, or loss, on individual transactions can be ascertained without difficulty. Against these advantages the writer knows of no single disadvantage that can be pleaded.

Before entering upon an explanation of the system we must direct the reader's attention to

The Golden Rule of Double Entry,

which may he concisely stated in six words, viz.:

Every Debit must have its Credit.

By bearing this constantly in mind, and applying it to each and all of the details of practical book-keeping, the difficulties of the system will entirely disappear, and its perfect simplicity be apparent.

It is the custom of the best book-keepers to use the following books in recording commercial transactions: the Cash Book, the Day Book, sometimes called the Sales Book, the Journal, and the Ledger.

The use of the Journal is gradually being abandoned, as it only imposes upon the book-keeper additional labor without any compensating advantages. Many houses dispense with it altogether, and the time is at hand when it will disappear from every well-regulated counting-room. In the following pages, therefore, we shall make no further reference to it, confining ourselves only to what is of practical value to the student of book-keeping, and avoiding everything that may serve to encumber him with useless details.

The Cash Book.

The name of this book indicates the use to which it is put. It is used exclusively for entries of money received and money paid out, and is thus the record of the daily cash transactions of the merchant. Each page of the Cash Book is ruled with two dollar and cent columns.

The left-hand page is used for "Cash Debtor," that is, for cash received; and