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(e) Foothills This region comprises the Counties of Ashley, Oxford, Tawera, and Selwyn,. being bounded by the Southern Alps to the west, the Waipara River to the north, the Christchurch region to the east, and the Rakaia River to the south. The area includes both mountainous and flat land, the former predominating. Rainfall in the north-west averages 40 in. Snow losses, are high in the mountainous country of Tawera, Oxford, and Ashley Counties. All of the counties in the region contain a belt of light shingly plains land in their eastern parts, a belt of tussock-clad foothills country in the centre, and high mountainous country to the north and west. Pockets of heavier land are found in Oxford County, and here cereals, small seeds, wool, and fat lambs are produced. Semi-intensive sheep-farming, with the main products wool, store and breeding stock and some cereal and fatlamb production, occupies the balance of the plains belt. The foothills are the source of supply of ewes for flock replacements on the plains, and no fattening or cereal-production is undertaken on these hills. Sheep on the plains and the foothills are principally halfbreds with some Corriedales, and in latter years there has been a tendency to increase the use of Romney rams for ewe-replacement breeding. Southdown rams are the fat-lamb sires. The high mountainous country which forms the greater proportion of the region carried halfbred and Merino flocks on very extensive grazing runs. The former breed predominates, and the decrease in the carryingcapacity of much of this country is in part attributed to the change-over from Merino to halfbred about 1919. From three to four Merinos were previously carried, as against two halfbreds to-day. Erosion is confined to the hills surrounding the basin of the upper reaches of the Waimakariri River. Between 1925 and 1945 sheep increased slightly from 543,000 to 553,000, Selwyn County accounting for the greater part of the increase. Oxford and Tawera Counties have remained static, while Ashley County has regressed. Breeding-ewes increased slightly from 327,000 in 1925 to--330,000 in 1945. (/) Plains This block of country (the Counties of Malvern, Kowai, Rangiora, Eyre,. Paparua, Ellesmere, and Springs) is almost completely flat except for some low downs on the northern and western borders of Kowai and Rangiora, and it can therefore be classed as a true Canterbury Plains area. The region has been formed by the overlapping fans formed by the Rakaia, Selwyn, Waimakariri, and Ashley Rivers, which account for the shingly areas which are interspersed with good soils varying from light sandy loams to the heaviest of silts. Mixed farming is therefore the pattern —cropping, intensive fat-lamb production, and some dairying in the areas nearer to Christchurch City. Sheep increased from 472,000 to 726,000 and breeding-ewes from 297,000' to 425,000. This, however, has been offset by a small decrease in the area under crop of 2,000 acres since 1920, showing a degree of stability in sheepfarming in the area. The small net increase in sheep numbers which has taken place can be attributed mainly to the increased area under sown grass.. Further increases will come from the use of better grasses and more widespread liming. Fat-lamb production dominates the sheep-farming except on the scattered shingly areas where Corriedales, halfbreds, and Romneys. are run. The Southdown ram has risen to be the principal one for fat-lamb, production.