pi ' 



of them being in ricks of hemp." 



Even before the fires, creditors had 

 asked the Amhempco Corporation to 

 show reasons why it should be allowed 

 to operate the plant. A hearing in the 

 Federal Court at Danville was called 

 for December 11. President William 

 H. Ball was prepared to present a peti- 

 tion to permit the plant to be operated 

 for the creditors' benefit. 



As the hearing came to order the 

 plant was burning. The president's 

 petition was not presented, the cor- 

 poration was judged bankrupt and a re- 

 ceiver appointed. Liabilities totaled 

 $573,000 as compared to assets of 

 doubtful value which include 15,000 

 tons of raw hemp and a partially des- 

 troyed plant. 



Danville merchants complain that 

 Christmas business in 1937 was sub- 

 normal. And is it little wonder. Three 

 hundred farmers lost an average of 

 |7l6 each in the hemp plant failure. 

 In addition, wheat, one of the largest 

 crops in the area, was a total loss be- 

 cause of rust damage. 



The loss was felt by the Vermilion 

 Service Company. Manager Lester 

 Miles reports that many hemp growers 

 cancelled orders for Soyoil paint and 

 tires. Others asked for extensions of 

 time in which to pay their fuel and 

 oil bills. 



One of the hard-hit growers was 

 James Hart of Fairmount. In 1937 he 

 had about 100 acres of wheat and 45 

 acres of hemp. The remaining 95 

 acres, planted to corn and soybeans, 

 produced the total farm income for the 

 year. 



Jim had served the Amhempco Cor- 

 poration as a fieldman for three years. 

 He had persuaded his neighbors to 

 grow the crop and had instructed them 

 in its culture. 



Now that the hemp company is 

 broke and growers have a claim of 

 |21 5,000 against the remaining assets, 

 farmers appointed Jim Hart to a com- 

 mittee representing them in the bank- 

 ruptcy proceedings. 



Says he, "If anyone wants to process 

 hemp we have about 15,000 tons, all 

 cured and ready, that we will sell 

 Vcheap." 



There is little hojje that creditors will 

 get more than a small percentage of 

 their claims. There is a rumor, how- 

 ever, that the hemp will be made into 

 pulp for the manufacture of fine paper. 

 Other folks say that the burned ma- 

 chines will be reconditioned and the 

 stacked hemp will be processed and 

 sold to satisfy claims. 



The moral to this story is: Find out 

 whether or not the backers of a new 

 enterprise can be held financially re- 

 sponsible before you invest. — Larry 

 Potter. •• . fi 



TOtd ffouniu Soil S/miatoitemeni Kry 



M COUNTY-WIDE Soil Im- 



^/ M> provement Day was held 



^^y^ I March 10th, at Melvin, 

 sponsored by the Ford County Farm Bu- 

 reau and the Soil Improvement Depart- 

 ment of the Illinois Agricultural Asso- 

 ciation. Clyde M. Linsley, soil expert 

 of the Univ. of Illinois was the principal 

 speaker. He gave a film strip talk. Farm 

 Adviser Triplett outlined the Ford 

 county soils program, and several farmers 

 gave results from the use of limestone, 

 phosphate and legumes. John R. Spencer 

 discussed the I.A.A.'s work on soil im- 

 provement. Adam Anderson, president 

 of the Farm Bureau, was chairman of the 

 meeting. 



The luncheon at noon was furnished 

 by the limestone and phosphate com- 

 panies that serve Ford County. After 



lunch, the high school band entertained. 

 Talks were made by Farmer Rusk of the 

 Ruhm Company, Harry Eaton, of Mid- 

 west, Harry Bulger of Thomson Phos- 

 phate Companies. Dan Sanborn of Le- 

 high Stone Company and E. H. Bills of 

 Moulding Brownell Company, Pontiac 

 Stone Company was another of the co- 

 operating limestone companies. 



The round table discussion brought 

 out much valuable experience and in- 

 formation. Ronald Stanford reported 

 that the cost of top dressing alfalfa with 

 1000 lbs. of Rock Phosphate was more 

 than repaid by the increase in two cut- 

 tings of hay. Meetings of this type will 

 probably be held in other counties. 



Ferns grow well in the home if given 



a light, well-drained soil and plenty of 

 water. They thrive in partial shade. 



Now is the time to BUY Gillette Tractor Tires — Special 

 Reduced Prices are in effect for a short time only. 



See your Salesman who drives a 

 Blue and White tank truck today. 



ILLINOIS FARM SUPPLY COMPANY 

 608 So. Dearborn St., Chgo. I > 



32 



L A. A. RECORD 



