flourish in this kingdom; and without this minute subdivision, business could not be carried on. There is no necessity to pass all the items of these subsidiary books through a waste-book, which is thus laid aside, or rather divided into these distinct branches. The cash and petty cash books, as well as the pass-book of the banker, receive all the cash accounts. The bill-book receives the bills receivable and payable. The daybook is the remnant of the waste-book; but from this also are detached the invoice-inward for all incoming goods, the invoice-outward for all outgoing goods, and the sales-book for all consignments. There is sometimes also added another, called the Adventurebook, where the merchant is in the habit of embarking in detached adventures. This is similar to a salesbook, as in it each adventure is kept apart. Such are the subdivisions of the waste-book, which, in fact, supersede it; for it would be absurd to re-enter all these matters in a waste-book before they pass into the journal, as a waste-book so composed would not contain a single original entry or document. According to the present practice, the subsidiary branches of the waste-book contain all the original entries, and the journal is then the great chronicle of the business.

The ledger, in extensive concerns, suffers the same fate as the waste-book: not only are subsidiary books detached from it, but some of its accounts are also broken up.

All profits and losses ultimately find their way into the Profit and loss account. But in extensive practice, the Profit and loss account is always broken up into several subsidiary accounts. Commission, Insurance,

and Debentures, are universally carried into separate accounts appropriated to them, and not unfrequently into distinct subsidiary books. Interest, again, has always a separate account; and to the credit of this are usually carried all interest and discounts we receive, and to its debit all the interest and discounts we pay or allow; but they have sometimes separate accounts. Rents and taxes, also Charges-merchandise, Bad debts, Clerks' salaries, and others, are detached according to the convenience of the merchant; and for money drawn by the merchant for his private use, it is the most advantageous method to open an account in the book, headed Private Account, which in partnership is indispensable. When this subdivision takes place, it is evident there is no necessity in these particular accounts to introduce the items, as the account itself sufficiently explains its contents. All these branch accounts of the profits and losses must, of course, be carried ultimately to the Profit and loss account.

In any extensive concern, especially where many items are dealt in, it is impossible to carry into the ledger the full account of every customer, as, in such case, the ledger would soon be filled; and the introduction of these large accounts would render the balancing the ledger almost an impossibility. To obviate this, all the full accounts of the customer are detached from the ledger, and the results only are introduced, with the usual reference to the journal; from whence they are collected in the ACCOUNT-CURRENT-BOOK. The accountcurrent-book then contains all the accounts of customers, and is a transcript of the bills sent out to each.

The ledger is thus relieved of all the items of the personal accounts of the Drs to the business. Of the Crs of the concern, there is no necessity to enter the items fully in the ledger, as they send in their bills; which, if the balances do not agree with his own, the merchant can check by the journal and invoices.

Another subsidiary book of the ledger is, the wareHOUSE-LEDGER, or Stock-book, as it is sometimes called, in which are contained all the real accounts of the articles in which a merchant continually deals. This also, according to circumstances, may be broken up. Thus, the wine may be kept in what is called a Wine-book, and only the monthly purchases and sales carried into the ledger, with their respective values. Recourse may be had to the stock-book for any kind of goods; and the values may be affixed as well as the quantities; for in that case the stock-book contains the real account of the goods complete. An example is given in Appendix XI.

The result of detaching these accounts from the ledger is, that the ledger is at once relieved from the bulk of all the real and personal accounts, and is so far diminished as to become little more than an index to the journal and the other books. And for completely rendering it so, and facilitating the balancing of it, it is usual to make all the entries as concise as possible; such as simply, To Cash, By Sundries, or the like; and, indeed, this is by some accountants carried to such a length, that they lay it down as a rule that a ledger post should never exceed a line. To complete this form of the ledger, the items of the balance account also are seldom entered in the ledger, but only in the

journal, and the balance itself only carried into the ledger. But there is no necessity thus to reduce the ledger, though it certainly adds to the business-like appearance of the book; and in concerns not very extensive, it is much more advantageous to insert in it as much as it will bear.

It is unnecessary to make any observations upon the many other books which different lines of business require. Letter-books, Order-books, and a variety of others, sufficiently explain themselves.

In the accounts of the Appendix it must be observed, that the merchant in the month of January proceeds in the original form of the Italian method. He closes the Paper and Cloth account at the close of that month, and gives up trading in them, reserving only one article of trade. In the months of February and March he becomes more of a general merchant, and brings his books into conformity with the present practice.

CHAPTER IV.

SINGLE ENTRY.

HAVING in the first of the foregoing chapters discussed the scientific principles and methods of accounts, and, in the second, the present practice upon the most extended scale, we shall in the present chapter take a survey of those accounts which are of a more limited nature, and which consequently do not require the whole machinery of the Italian method. The method by which these accounts are kept is usually known as Book-keeping by Single Entry.

With respect to the meaning of the term book-keeping by single entry, there is some difference of opinion, not only among traders, but even among accountants. Some maintain that if the journal is dispensed with, and the entries made direct from the waste-book or subsidiary books to the ledger, that this is the method by single entry, because there is only one posting, and the intermediate posting of the journal is omitted: while others maintain that the term refers to the double entries in the ledger, which the Italian method requires for each transaction; and that any method of book-keeping that dispenses with one of these two ledger entries, is book-keeping by single entry; and this indeed is the real meaning of the term.