SILVER OR CHINCHILLA PERSIANS. 



147 



- THE VICARAGE, SANDAL MAYNER, 

 NEAR WAKEFIELD, 



October 141/1, 1882. 

 ' To Mrs. VALLAXCE. 



' MADAM, The kitten I have to sell is quite 

 pure bred. The mother I bought for \ is. when 

 quite a kitten from prize parents. The father is 

 one we bred partly from Mrs. Radford's breed and 

 partly from a splendid torn cat that was found 

 living wild at Babbicombe, and that we had in our 

 possession for some months, but unfortunately he 

 is lost again now I am afraid permanently. I 

 think this kitten promises to be very like the mother. 

 She is very handsome and has good points brush, 

 ear tips, and so on but I consider her rather small. 

 But the kitten may be finer, as the father is a large 

 cat. Miss Grant's are related to ours on the father's 

 side, but Mrs. Radford's very distantly, if at all. 



' I do not think these Angora kittens are delicate. 

 We have never failed in rearing them. The more 

 new milk they have, and the better feeding, the finer 

 cats they are likely to make. We do not have much 

 trouble in keeping ours at home, as we live some dis- 

 tance from the village. We always give ours their 

 principal meal at 6 p.m., and keep them shut up in 

 a hay-loft until next morning. If you have a box 

 wherever the kitten lives, with sifted sand or cinders 

 in it, kept in a corner, you will find that the best 

 way to ensure habits of cleanliness. If I hear nothing 

 from you to the contrary I will send the kitten on 

 Wednesday morning, igth, by the early train from 

 Derby station ; and if you are not satisfied with 

 the kitten I am willing for it to be returned within 

 a day or two, if the return journey is paid and I am 

 let know beforehand when to expect it. 



' I remain, yours truly, 



' GRACE HURT.' 



A letter redolent of lavender and old-world 

 deliberation, but words of wisdom for all that. 

 The reported delicacy of long-haired cats would 

 trouble us less if we had more of the new milk 

 and hay-loft system. Raw meat, raw eggs, 

 new milk, fresh air, grass, and water are the 

 sole ingredients required to rear the most 

 valuable kitten. 



' Chinnie's ' size is another interesting 

 point. She grew to medium weight, but was 

 remarkable for symmetry of form rather than 

 bulk. 



" Some of the loveliest chinchillas are small, 

 but 'Nizam,' 'Tod Sloan,' 'Ameer,' 'Silver 

 Lambkin,' ' Laddie,' ' Lord Argent,' ' Silver 

 Mist,' ' Cherub,' and ' St. Anthony ' stand out 



MRS. BALDING S "FLUFFIE TOD. 



as being as large, or larger, than any cats of 

 other colours, and the majority of them have 

 also the purity of colour, broad heads, and 

 short legs so often lacking in large cats. The 

 legginess and want of quality which frequently 

 accompanies size doubtless cause our leading 

 judges to deem it of little account. 



" The name chosen by Mrs. Vallance for 

 her new acquisition proves that even in those 

 early days the term chinchilla was in vogue. 

 ' Chinnie's ' wins were third Maidstone, 

 Sittingbourne, V.H.C. Oxford, Maidstone. 

 Her charming little mate ' Fluffy I.,' a very 

 pure silver with undecided tabby markings, 

 also showed the quality of coat and cherub 

 face for which their descendants have been 

 unsurpassed. He was bred in 1883 by Miss 

 Acland from imported cats, and won first and 

 medal at Maidstone, Cheltenham, and Ealing, 

 second Ryde, V.H.C. Crystal Palace, Oxford,, 

 and Lincoln. His career ended in 1886, when 

 he disappeared. Tradition whispers he was 

 destroyed in the village. 



" In April, 1885, ' Chinnie ' produced a 

 litter by ' Fluffy I.,' two members of which 

 ' Vezzoso ' and ' Beauty ' have earned un- 

 dying fame in the annals of chinchilla history. 

 ' Vezzoso,' a marvel of lavender loveliness, in 



