Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1895-07-03
HUNTING A MARKET.
Mr.. w. II. Hicklin Talks Interestingly About
the Dairy Business.

Mr.. W. H. Hicltlin Talks Interestingly About
the Dairy Business.
News and Courier, Saturday.
Mr.. w. H. Hicklin, who is the pro-
prietor of the Oakhurst Jersey farm, at
Guthriesville, in York county, was in
the city yesterday. Mr.. Hicklin is.
one of the most progressive young
farmers in his county, and some ex-
periments which he has made and is
still making in dairy farming in South
Carolina, will be of especial interest to.
the people of Charleston just now. Mr..
Hicklin had read the discusson in The
News and Courier regarding the posi-
bility and advisability of the Charles
ton produce market being supplied
from the farmers of this State, and he
has come down to the city with view
of placing here the products of his
dairy. He was in communication
with several Of the leading grocery
merchants in the city yesterday and as
a result it is probable that in the future
many Charleston people will draw
their weekly supplies of butter from
the Oakhurst Jersey farm, which Mr..
Hicklin manages.
When seen by a reporter yesterday,
Mr.. Hickln said that he had gone into
the dairy business partly by accident,
but that he very quickly formed the
opinion that it could be made a great
and profitable industry in this State,
and that now he was fully determined
to push his experiments far enough to
make final test Of the matter. He
started out with one Jersey COW a few
years ago, and he now has herd of
80, II now being at the pail, giving
him q monthly output of 300 pounds
of butter for the market. This does
not include the cream and butter used
at home and disposed of right around
his house. He begun by selling his
butter in Rock Hill, but the market
there was small and soon overstocked,
so he begun to look abroad. He took
to sending his butter to Charlotte, then
to Columbia, and he is now looking
for still larger field here in Charles
ton. He has standing contracts to
supply Columbia merchants with large
quantities Of butter, and he is greatly
pleased with his transactions in that
city. His ambition, Mr.. Hicklin says,
is to develop his business to a point
at which he will practically supply the
butter market of this State. This he
believes to be entirely practical. Mr..
Hicklin says that he is not yet in
position to furnish perfectly accurate
statistics regarding the cost of produc-
ing butter or the prices at which it
would have to be sold in large quanti-
ties to make the dairy business sue
cess. He has just begun to collect
data for his own guidance in the mat
ter. He said, however, that his farm
contained some 800 acres. His pas
ture was one of Bermuda grass and
Japan clover. The field contained 40
acres, and he found this furnished
excellent pasturage for 30 head OF
stock for from six to eight months in
the year. The COWS were fed grain
throughout the year, however, the
quantity varying with the needs of the
individual animal. He had large
barn capable of accomm odating all of
his stock, and when the weather was at
all bad they were kept housed con-
tinuously. Under these conditions he
found that his business was proving
profitable. All of his cattle were of
Jersey stock, though he had not as yet
imported any of them directly from
the island himself They came for the:
most part from Tennessee and Virginia
herds, and were of pure blood.
When asked if his trip to Charleston
had been successful, he said that he
was entirely satisfied. He had made
arrangements here for having his but
ter introduced upon the Charleston
market and tried by the people. He
had been informed that Charleston
buyers showed disinclination to use
country butter, rather seeming to pre-
fer the Northern article; but he
thought this was attributable to the
class of butter which was sent in from
the country. He was confident that
when a 6rst-class grade of country
butter was presented to the people at
a reasonable price they would use it in
preference to all others. He believed
that as good butter could be made
right here in South Carolina as any
where in the world.