Evening star., 1946-06-02
BY A. A. Hoehling
star Stat Correspondent.
NEW MARKET, Va


where almost anything grows
without persuasion, former
amateur boxer Is growing pro-
digious numbers Of furry little rodents.
Unlike the common variety. these
rodents are worth q thousand or more
dollars apiece. That's because they
happen to be chinchillas, and chin
chillas 70 to make the kind Of fur
coat that doesn't have to make obeisance
even to the mighty mink.
TT takes at least 40 pelts to make
one coat" says Wallace w. Greer, jr..
the dark k-haired, good looking operator
Of the ohinchilla ranch here. "You
can figrrs the cost Of each pelt some
where betwesn $50 and $3.50.
MULTIPLY that out and you can see
why I. went into this business"
It's growing industry in the United
states. His IL one Of the 20 main
ranches, so-called, In the country. And
It IL probably the largest. as he also
operates two other farms, one In North
Carolina, the other in Arizona.
nyou count the backyard "ranchers,"
the people who have invested in pair
or two - q hobby, the chinchtlla busi-
ness would seem very vast indeed. The
ranches would run well into the hun
drsds.
Vstsrans Are Gsttink
Interested in Ranches
Returning veterans in particular have
seized on this type Of fur raising AS
q short-cut to wealth and are investing
their savings In two or four OF the
precious little animals. And the term
precious Is used advisedly. rs they bring
from 81 600 to 5000 = pair when sold
n breeding stock.
"Wafy" Greer started his ranch in
1887. one year out Of the University
Of Miami, with his brother -in-law, DR..
L. +. Hale, . West Virginia dentist.
They had a pairs Of chinchillas then.
now they have about 500 pairs.
Mr.. Greer, who has all the jealous
ness Of 4 missionary combined with
the earthly knowledge of farmer.
predicts that the industry will, in the
comparatively near future. expand to
the point where pelts will sell for as
low as two or three dollars apiece. But
at the moment that Is no worry OF his
n he confines his sales for the most
part to expensive breeding stock.
The United States has suddenly found
that 1t has the monopoly on chin
chillss. They were brought here from
the Andes of South America in 1923,
where they had been known to exist
In 4 wild state for 400 years. They
have been slaughtered so indiscrimi-
nately down there that the wild stock
is almost exhausted.
whether in warm or cool. high or low
resions, they have adjusted themselves
to the climate Of North America and
now, Mr.. Greer says, they have become
"ths toughest animals know Of, else
they would not have survived my early
mistakes" ..---
O. I'VE used to think We had to sit up at
night and hold their hands. or maybe
7 mean paws" his sister-partner, Mrs
Della Hale will add, but We quickly
learned that wasn't necessary. In fact.
nighttime is their best time. They sleep
most of the day."
They are susceptible to pneumonia,
and, in their infancy. to = strange stom-
ach ailment for which there Is no known
remedy. Yet each pair can be expected
to have two litters Of three or four young
yearly and At least two Of each litter
normally survive.
They are born, incidentally, with eyes
open, 4 set Of teeth, and start walking
Mt once. In ~ little as six months their
fur can become marketable.
Chinchillas Are
Intelligent Animals
They are intelligent, likable cres-
tures," says Mrs. Hale. when 4
stranger passes their cage you can tell
by the way they stare and act that they
know 1t is stranger. They are distinct
individuals"
Physically. they have characteristics