The Lubbock avalanche. (Lubbock, Tex.) 1909-1922, 1922-08-15

!
over unfortunate seasons. or 20 take
care of themselves and families
when the years begin 20 bear heav-
ily upon them, Is not a difficult task
In that part Of Texas known as the
Plains. Drive out In any direction
from any Of the prosperous cities
and villages in the Plains and you
will see innumerable signs Of pros
perity, many Of the farm homes be-
ing of such a character as 70 grace
city street in select neighbor-
hood.
Found the Man ! Sought.
Writing in the first person, as lr-
win Cobb is in the habit Of doing, !
will say, by way.of explanation, that
| started out Of Lubbock one day
recently with the purpose Of inter
viewing some farmers who was dig.
cling his own living out Of the soil
and paying his way ms he went
along. | passed many fine farm
homes where appearances indicated
that the owner had prospered TO
such an extent that II was no long
er necessary TO go into the fields
except to direct the work of his hir-
ed men. Finally | came 10 little
cottage set IN among a wealth OF
trees, and looking out in the field
saw farmer and his young son get
ting ready TO cultivate cotton field.
| drove in and introduced myself 90
Mr.. o. H. Akin, real dirt farmer
who moved to the Plains about six
years ago from the vicinity of Sher-
IIa fKVafFnd
10 be the man | was looking for.
Mr.. Akin came 20 this country six
years ago and contracted for a quar-
ter section of land, making a small
payment With the exception of
small house and barn and a few
trees, there were but few improve
ments. The farm isnow nearly paid
for. More trees have been set out
for windbreaks and shade, and n
fine orchard is just coming into
bearing. The orchard contains APP
pies pears, grapes, cherries and APP
ricots, During this period Of six
years two years were considered
out Of the ordinary because Of the
absence of the usual amount Of rain,
but although these years were less
profitable than the other four, the
farm has paid some handsome divi-
dends
Home Needs Come First
Mr.. Akin is one Of those kind OF
farmers who looks after number one
first His first concern Is 70 pro-
duce something to eat for himself,
family and livestock, after which he
produces something 70 sell. He sell
dom drives 10 town that he does not
haul in a bigger load than he hauls
back. Some weeks he makes two
trips into Lubbock, selling a mini
mum of SIS worth of produce each !
trip, consisting Of poultry and dairy
products, fresh pork, In fall and win
ter, and fruits in season. Oftentimes, |
Mr. Akin says, he sells 500 worth OF
farm products per trip, his average
for the year exceeding 5000. This
is exclusive Of the sale of his cotton
and other major crops.
Mr.. Atkins young son Joined the
pig club three years ago. He Sc
cured purebred Duroc brood SOW
and contracted TO pay $50 for her
For two years he has won first |
premium with this SOW at the Plains |
NbAHAN RAM Hi7 premium H'if's /
amounting 70 500. From this one |
SOW the father and son made their
start with purebred hogs.
Purebreds Better in Every Way
They are keeping the small herd |
pure in blood, but make no effort 10
sell for breeding purposes. He says
he is not a breeder, but finds that
purebreds make the best and cheap |
est meat. Last fall he killed ten
hogs at various times and when the
price Of hogs was around 3 cents,
he secured an average of 20 cents
per pound for all he had to sell,
by taking the dressed meat into
Lubbock, where he had no trouble |
in disposing of il for cash.
Besides hogs, Mr.. Akin has seven
good Jersey cows which bring him
profit in cream, milk and butter |
Thus far he has averaged so cents |