Since the majority of listed stocks are designated by initials or abbreviations in order to handle them with greater ease, some firms prefer to run the stock ledger on the numerical plan. By this plan each account is numbered and the accounts follow consecutively. Tabbed index sheets occur at intervals of from ten to twenty numbers, showing the location of any numbered account. With this arrangement it is necessary to keep a separate index of the various listed stocks, with their respective numbers, and to find an account the number of the stock must first be ascertained. By constant handling and entering, the bookkeeper becomes very familiar with the numbers and it is but little trouble for him to locate an account. The greater difficulty would be for someone who is unfamiliar with the books to find an account when wanted. Owing to this fact, the alphabetical arrangement is preferred. =29. Customers' Ledger.= Brokers who deal in grain and other food products, cotton, and stocks, usually require ledger sheets slightly differing, to keep a record of customers' accounts. The different rulings are not frequently used for the same customer, as those who deal in grain are not often stock manipulators. As interest is charged to the customer for deferred payments upon stock deals, this item must be taken care of in the ledger. Upon grain transactions, the balance on the purchase price is not paid until the delivery of the goods, consequently there are no interest charges upon these accounts until after maturity. Fig. 13 shows rulings of six ledgers used by prominent brokerage houses in Chicago and St. Louis, and a study of the different forms as to the columnar arrangement will show how varied are ideas in regard to ledger rulings. All of these forms are useful, and the choice is merely a matter of individual preference. One thing which should be borne in mind in regard to ledger rulings is that the information shown in the ledger account should be exactly the same as that which it is necessary to convey to the customer in his monthly or weekly statement. The reason for this is that it should never be necessary to refer to any book except the ledger in preparing customers' statements, and it will be noticed in the statement of Logan & Bryan, shown later, that it is not only a reproduction of the ledger account as to matter contained therein, but also follows it exactly in form and ruling. This book is used the same as any other loose-leaf ledger with the exception that there is much more detail entered in these ledger accounts than is usual in a mercantile business. Not more than one account should be entered on one leaf, for the reason that it is impossible to maintain a perfect alphabetical arrangement unless each account is absolutely independent.