In dry weather after sifting, owing to dust flying off, it is always a little less. In wet weather, on the contrary, it increases in weight. In the Tuesday line where “W” shows it was a wet day and the Tea 230 lbs. before sifting it, is 233 afterwards. This is owing to moisture imbibed, and it is the only objection to sifting daily, whatever the weather. The advantages of the plan, though, are so great, as explained, that I put up with this, and practically I do not find it detrimental. Of course, as previously explained, all moisture is driven off before the Tea is packed. However, to make all quite safe, after a very wet damp day, the Teas might be re-dried for a few minutes over charcoal before being put into their respective bins. I do not do this myself though, and do not think it necessary.
I hope now I have made the above form plain. It is in a book, and each page will hold one week. The total of the Tea made in the week is added up and shown at foot, and that amount is then transferred to the credit side of the Tea store account. Thus (see both forms) 16 maunds 32 lbs. is credited.
The form given on the next page is also kept in a book, and the total of right-hand side subtracted from the left gives at any time the quantity of Tea in store.
Tea Store Account.
| Receipts | Expenditure | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week ending on Saturday | Tea made in week | Total | Date | No. of Invoice | To whom | Tea in each Invoice | Total | ||||||
| Mds. | lbs. | Mds. | lbs. | Mds. | lbs. | Mds. | lbs. | ||||||
| Brought over | .. | .. | .. | 405 | 8 | Brought over | .. | .. | 351 | 14 | |||
| October | 7th | 16 | 32 | October | 3 | 15 | — | 40 | 15 | ||||
| „ | 14th | 15 | 0 | „ | 20 | 16 | — | 33 | 10 | ||||
| „ | 21st | 17 | 10 | — | — | 73 | 25 | ||||||
| „ | 28th | 14 | 40 | ||||||||||
| — | — | 63 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Carried over | Carried over | ||||||||||||
Regarding accounts between the manager and his employers, I think they should be of the simplest kind. If a man can be trusted he should be trusted; if he cannot, no system of accounts will restrain him, and he should be kicked out. A simple account current, furnished monthly, showing under few heads the receipts and expenditure, is all that can be required. It is not by any papers received from a manager that an opinion can be expressed as to how he does his work, and how the plantation progresses. A competent person visiting the garden can easily ascertain, and in default of this, and combined with this, the only true test is the balance sheet at the end of each season.
Shortly, it is not by the form, the nicety, the detail of accounts between manager and employer, that success is ensured or even forwarded. It is, as far as accounts are concerned, by the forms and system the manager adopts as between him and his subordinates, and these he should be able to show are good to the employer, or anyone deputed by him to visit the garden.
The profit shown yearly, whether it is large or small, all things considered, is, however, the only true ultimate test.