Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1921-12-14
The Lake Brothers Farm.
The Farm

The Farm.
I doubt if there can be found OF
the line of the Augusta and Port Roy
al Railroad greater agricultural
transformation in a farm or a great
er financial success than obtains IL
the case Of the farm of the Lake
Brothers situated at Hankinson,
railroad station on the Port Roya
Railroad, postofice, Kathwood. While
it is run under the name of Lake
Brothers the sole owner of it now is
Mr.. H. L. Lake. The plantation today
consists of fourteen hundred acres
One thousand of it is under cultiva-
tion. Mr.. Lake is now known as one
of the best breeders of Duroc hogs
in South Carolina. This hog breeding
business is directly under the charge
.of Mr.. Hammond Carmichael. The
Lake farm does general farming and
not a little of the farm now is de-
voted to feeding hogs. Mr.. Lake has a
sawmill in the Savannah River bot
toms for he has considerable timber
holdings. The hands are switched
from the sawrnill into farm activi-
ties and vice versa whenever it is so
indicated. He has several hundred
acres of fine Johnson grass land On
the river. He has now eight thousand
bales of fine number one Johnson
grass hay for sale. UP until recent
ly he had one hundred and fifty mis-
cellaneous steers but he is getting rid
of these as fast as he can and will
go into pure bred white faced stock.
A Transformation.
(, Mr.. Lake began farming fifteen
years ago with practically nothing ex-
cept his knowledge of farming. In
1905 he bought the plantation known
as Governor Paul Hammond's place
and the place pras at that time divid-
ed up into FIVE units. It was so eaten
up by Joint or Bermuda grass that it
was thought to be irredeemab1e and
it was bought FOR a small sum. Each
of these five units, as fact, return
ed at that time to their owner only
one bale of Gotten per unit.
AS matter of fact, in 1906 there
was not over fourteen bales of cot
ton raised on the whole of these five
farms. Two years ago Mr.. Lake made
five hundred and fifty bales. On ac-
count of boil weevil he has reduced
his cotton acreage to a hundred acres.
He got rid Of the Joint grass by
clean culture and he has brought up
his land to a fine state of productive
ty through legumes. This land today
is black loam soil and underneath
one ito two feet deep is clay. 1t is
really today a perfect soil. Strange
to say on account of his hog business
MFR. Lakes mind is again turning to
Bermuda, and he is now encouraging
what some years ago he was fighting
up to the limit. This farm is exceed
ing successful in. growing oats. 1t is
also successful in peanut culture. The
farm makes speciality of cow peas,
not only for hog grazing but for pea
shipping. Mr.. Lake shipped away only
a few days ago a carload of his peas.
He is one of the most successful pc
can growers on the road and he gets
the very top of the market. While
the usual pecan tree may not pro-
duce over twenty-five pounds yet he
has one tree in the middle of the
stable yard that has sproduced one
hundred and twenty-five pounds. The
nuts were produced in great bunch
es. This super production came from
the fact that it was in a stable yard
and because there was running water
near by. In looking over his farm to-
day one can scarcely believe that it
I, was an abandoned farm fifteen years
ago.
A Duroc Breeder.
The above shows how many fac
tors this farm is now made up of. Its
most interesting factor possibly is
the breeding of high grade Durocs.
This farm began only two years ago
with ten gifts and has now fifty brood
sows and one hundred and twenty
five porkers- Moreover there are one
hundred and ffty-four fall pigs and
one hundred and thirty-four spring
pigs. To prevent inbreeding he has
two boars of different Duroc strains
The father of one of them is thirty
two thousand dollar hog and this par.
ticular hog cost Mr.. Lake six hun