Net Worth..................................$5,620.00 $11,866.00 Gain for the Year...........................6,246.00 _____ $11,866.00 $11,866.00 Her aunt picked up the sheet and read it over carefully and said: "The farm shows a gross earning of $12,420 for the new year, and after paying the interest on the mortgage and loans of $1860; $2000 for wages and $2214 for new furniture, piano, victrola and new automobile, a total of $6074, it still leaves a balance $6346, as a net gain, and that without counting the earnings from the sand pit. Our new buildings and fencing cost us $20,000, and our new machinery and tools $5000. The farm shows a profit of $124 per acre for the ground under cultivation. If we do as well this coming year as we did last year, we ought to have the farm free and clear, but, of course, we won't have to depend on that as we have the earnings from the sand pit to help out, if we want to use it for that purpose, but instead of paying off the mortgage in full, I think we will irrigate the seven acres along the main road and put that field under intensive cultivation." "We ought to do a great deal better next year, Uncle Joe," said Bob, "as we won't have the buildings to bother with and I can devote all my time to the work; then we ought to be able to do a great deal more work, too, on account of the saving of time, due to having modern buildings and all our power installed, which we didn't have for the full season last year." They studied the inventory for some minutes, comparing the gross earnings per acre of one crop with another, and were very much surprised to find that in many cases crops they had previously thought to be quite profitable showed up in the schedule rather poorly by comparison with others. "Why, the oats seem to have earned only $21 per acre, while the corn shows an earning of $44 per acre--more than twice as much as the oats," said Edith. "You know, Edith," said her uncle, "that after the oats were taken off we pastured sixty pigs in the oat stubble for the balance of the summer. Of course, that must be credited up to the oat field, because the crop made it possible to raise the rape and afford a good pasture for them." "Oh, I hadn't thought of that," said Edith. "The apples paid well," said Ruth; "almost $140 per acre, and we were just starting our new system of selling by mail." "Of course, last year we had an exceptionally nice crop," said their aunt, "which was partly due, no doubt, to Bob's bees, and I think some credit should be given to the dynamiting of the land. Next year I'm sure we can sell every apple raised at a good price." "Did we make $430 out of pigs last year?" asked Ruth, looking at the hog account. "That's what we did," laughed her uncle. "I had no idea so much money could be made raising pigs."