Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1921-10-04
FARMING THAT PAYS
Wade Drake of Anderson County !:
Making Good.

farming all over again with Il sway
back mule. fourteen hundred dollars
a Perfectly good wife, two small chill
lrcn. and II hold-ovc case OF malaria
that had kept him in bed Il couple os
years. This can hardly be classed rs
folks can beat it a starter. But
what about the fnish-that is, as far
rs Wade has gone: he hasn't finished.
He took a lot of old hills all full of
sullics as the land upon which to build
Tor the future, and since that begin
ming he has added other hills with
Great gullics. We saw them and can
testify that they are great. All told
he has upward of four hundred acres
IN his present farm, many that Will
make more than Il bale of cotton to the
acre. and some that do much better.
I'm the place of that sway-back mule
ne started with he has plenty of good
heavy work stock and three tractors,
one steam and two gas. He has neat
.oomy home painted white, his own
private electric light plant and pres
sure water system; Il crib full Of corn,
ulcnty of meat, and a lot of other stuff
around him that tells story Of thrift
md progress.
He has boil wccvils.-countless mil
lions-but doesn't make II fuss about
hem. lie is not afraid. He doesn't
owe any man a cent ami has Il COM
portable reserve in the things we have
mentioned. 30 bales of cotton, and
considerable actual cash.
Walking over his fields we found
volunteer clovers and vctchCs growing
everywhere, aad corn and velvet beans
and many acres OF luXuriant summer
crops that have been grown solely TO
ne turned under. NrS Drake was too
busy telling US all about his winter
crop and how he built up those old
worn hills 10 take up time talking
about boil wCCvils. On one field or
corn and velvet beans, oats and vetch
have already been planted and are
coming through. This with the resi-
due from the corn and beans will make
IONS and tons to be turned under for
| The next crop of cotton. In field oi
cotton we noticed a few stalks tha,
showed wilt. He said that mattcred
little because vctch and grain would
follow the cotton and that would keep
! The wilt under control.
At the seed house we saw many
bushels of oats and wheat sacked and
ready To go to the market as seed, and
we saw the seed he expects TO plant
! for himself and how he handles H..
! With oats, he says it is difficult TO
save them just right when they are
/ tbrr,.hcd damn. so he has his Owr
small elevator. The grain is carried
| To the third floor, and when it begins
| to heat il IS dropped floor by floor back
| to The bottom and round and round
until il is safe. He is right proud OF
the idea and has Il right TO be. 1t is
an evidence OF the ingenuity that has
won for him.
/ We talked some with Mrs. Drake,
and if we are not mighty badly mis-
taken she is at least a half of the
| Drake outfit. if not the better half.
! \ud the daughter, seated on the from;
doorstep with lot of sewing in her
| lap. said she is a regular student in
| Anderson college. The boy is il win
| ncr in the Wheat club, and h2s very
promising acre of corn down close to
the foot of one of those hills where
I the richness from above has been
trapped
Somebody asked Mr.. Drake if he
wasn't sorry he didn't sell his cotton
when il was above thirty cents. lie
said hc didn't know about trat. stating
that if he had sold it then very likely
h" would have invested the money in
cotton mill or some other sort OF stock
and that The stock would not now be
worth. as much as The cotton is worth.
T." reasons further that if hc ard
everybody else mad rushed AL The cot
ton To- the market when it was around
thirty cents, the price would have
dropped Immediately and very likely
would have kept on falling To pnin,
eventually much below what is act
ualll reached. Locks like good r"a-
SnniuG. Anyway, the cotton IS his to
handle rs hc secs iii. and as Il farmer,
4.