12 INTRODUCTION. 



above tlie river there. In the south the long- rano^e of chalk 

 downs known as the Chiltern Hills, stretching- for a distance 

 of nearly sixteen miles, present some imposing- heights, rising 

 to nearly 700 feet at Nettlebed, and attaining an elevation of 

 upwards of 800 feet near the Buckinghamshire borders at 

 Beacon Hill. 



Oxfordshire is watered by one river, the Isis or Thames, and 

 some score or so of streams of more or less importance, besides 

 a number of minor streamlets, all of which, with two exceptions, 

 empty themselves into the Thames. The Stour and Ouse take 

 their rise in the county but leave it after a few miles^ course. 

 Oxfordshire indeed has been said to be the best watered 

 county in England. Plot writes, ' though Oxfordshire almost 

 in every part .... doth produce corn of all sorts plentifully 

 enough ; yet it has much more cause to brag of its meadows, 

 and abmidance of pastures, wherein (as in rivers) few country s 

 may be compared, perhaps none preferred,' 



The Isis touches Oxon at Kelmscote, and afterwards divides 

 this county from Berkshire until at Bemenham the left bank 

 of the river passes into Bucks. The more important streams 

 which it receives in its course are, successively, the Leach and 

 the Windrush, rising in the Gloucestershire wolds, which, 

 rapid, clear, and stony, differ from the rest of our streams with 

 their muddy banks and bottoms and often sluggish current ; 

 the Evenlode, with its tributaries the Glyme and Dome ; the 

 Cherwell, flowing' from the extreme north of the county, and 

 receiving in its course to Oxford numerous additions to swell 

 its volume, among others the Sorbrook, the Swere, and 

 the sluggish Ray, which meanders through Otmoor ; and 

 lastly the Thame, after which last junction it properly 

 assumes the name of Thames. South and east of this no 

 streams of any size exist in the county, the Chiltern district 

 being badly supplied with water in all parts except in the 

 immediate vicinity of the Thames. 



' And what sedged brooks are Thames's tributaries.' 



The amount of water brought down by the streams varies 

 greatly with the seasons. In summer they are often very 



