28 Climate of the British Isles 



cattle and in Ireland twenty-three to the hundred acres 

 of land of all kinds. 



The great sheep-regions are the hillside pastures, such 

 as the Southern Uplands of Scotland, the hillsides of 

 Wales and the Chalk Downs of southern England. In 

 these areas there are from 50 to 100 sheep to every 

 hundred acres of land. 



In some of the midland and western midland counties, 

 such as Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Shropshire, Wor- 

 cestershire and Grloucestershire, the area of perm.anent 

 pasture exceeds half the total area of the county, and is 

 more than double the total area of arable land. In 

 Somerset the permanent pasture occupies about two- 

 thirds of the area of the county and is more than four 

 times the area of arable land. 



These figures contrast very strikingly with those for 



the eastern counties, e.q. Cambridgeshire, 

 Ara)}le land. . 



where the proportions are reversed, the 



arable land exceeding two-thirds of the whole area and 



being more than three times that of the permanent 



pasture^. In Norfolk, Suifolk, Essex, Huntingdonshire, 



and Lincolnshire the area of arable land exceeds, and 



sometimes considerably exceeds, half of the total area of 



the county, while it approaches or exceeds twice the area 



of permanent grass. 



This eastern district with the large proportion of arable 



, ^, ^ land is also the region where most wheat is 

 Wheatland. , , t , . 



grown, the area under wheat m any given 



year varying from one-sixth to one-quarter of the total 



area under arable crops. Eight of these eastern counties 



including Lincolnshire provide about 42 per cent, of the 



total wheat area of Great Britain, while the total of 



^ If the small patches of permanent pasture round the villages, which 

 it is necessary to maintain for the grazing of farm animals and of cows 

 for the local supply of milk, etc., were subtracted, the total would be 

 very greatly reduced. 



