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♦ Cattle are of little importance in the region, and dairying lias increased only slightly over the' period, mainly because of an expansion of the need of Christchurch City for whole milk. The feature of the region is the dominating part played by cash crops, such as wheat, barley, peas, and potatoes. The plains region early in its settlement became the granary of New Zealand, and the techniques of cropproduction are now ingrained in the farming community of the area, with a result that any changes from this type of farming are likely to be very . low. Fluctuations in the acreage of crops occur, these being particularly noticeable in the slump period, when the acreage increased and the number of sheep declined. In spite of the fluctuation, the fact that of a total area of 624,000 acres occupied, 114,000 were in annual crops in 1945 shows the considerable part played by the agricultural industry in the region. (g) Christchurch (Heathcote, Waimairi, and Halswell Counties) These counties surround the City of Christchurch and have been grouped, as they are, in effect, the area from which the city draws its milk-supplies and fresh vegetables. Of the total occupied area of 65,000 acres no more than 10,000 acres are devoted to sheep-farming, this area being divided into two sections, one in the north on light land along the Waimakariri River where store sheep are raised and the other in the south and south-east on the hill slopes of Banks Peninsula with store sheep and fat lambs. There has been a slight increase in sheep numbers over the period, breeding-ewes accounting for the greatest increase from 19,700 to 25,000, this being attributed to the establishment of better pastures. However, the place of sheep in the farming economy of the region is small when account is taken of the fact that of a total of 1,740 holdings in 1945 only 51 carried sheep, and of these, 10 owners had about 28,000 of the total of 43,000 sheep. On the hills and on the section along the Waimakariri River very few fat lambs are raised, but a number are raised on the hill farms containing fertile valley floors. The main characteristics of the region are the number of holdings devoted to dairying for town milk-supply and to market gardening ; sheep, in effect, only occupy the lighter areas on the outer fringe of the northern and southern part of the region. (h) Banks Peninsula This region, comprising the Counties of Akaroa, Wairewa, and Mount Herbert, is an isolated area of Canterbury hill country surrounded by sea except for its western boundary," which is the Canterbury Plains. The highest peak is 3,000 ft., and a number of others are over 2,000 ft. Rainfall is heavier than on most parts of the plains, averaging 45 in. yearly. Total sheep have increased from 242,000 to 279,000, and breeding-ewes from 170,000 to 194,000. However, this increase has been permitted by a decrease in dairy-cow numbers. Unlike other parts of Canterbury, the Peninsular flocks are largely Romney, and to maintain them young stock are drawn from the Chatham Islands and Southland. Fat lambs are the main source of revenue. Southdown rams predominate, and for 1945 of the rams used 47 per cent, were of this breed. The breeding of prime cattle to cater for the Christchurch meat trade in the winter is important.