Show ch achilla farmer successfully raises the soft fleeced french gray rodents twenty three years ago the world worlds s original chinchilla farm now valued at 1750 1 was start ed at inglewood ginglewood Ing lewood calif by M F chapman a mining engineer who had indian trappers capture eleven chinchillas up in the lofty andes there are now 1108 of the soft fleeced french gray rodents valued at 1600 1 each for breeding purposes they are housed in fine wired cages with separate apart ments for each family according to farm authorities says a writer in the detroit news the chinchilla mates for life with father and mother sharing cespon sivility lity for bringing up the chil dren they even take shifts in hov ering their offspring baby chin chillas arrive in litters of one to four two being the usual number they are born with full coats of fur and eyes wide open A chinchilla chinchillas s diet is very simple lault lAt Lt and inexpensive its total annual food bill of corn rolled oats and alfalfa hay being only 10 every other day he gets a quarter kernel of a walnut but being a strict tee he gulps a teaspoon of water every twenty four hours since once in the farm s history half the population was stolen these shy little e animals which measure about ten inches in length not counting their bushy tails are nov guarded by armed men and burglar alarms on each of their houses there are few pelts on the market and prices vary from 10 to 30 for full length chinchilla wraps consequently most wearers must be content with collars or short jackets of this precious gray fur these rare animals are practical ly extinct in the andes they were first appreciated by the inca chieftains of peru tu |