MAGPIE FIELDS ^E^^^E^ 



from those just mentioned never quite loses its 

 green ; it cannot be said, indeed, to remain green, 

 but there is a trace of it somewhere; the leaves 

 must, I suppose, be partly buff and partly green ; 

 and the mixture of these colours in bright sun- 

 shine produces a tint for which I know no accurate 

 term. 



In the tops of the poplars, where most exposed, 

 the leaves stay till the last, those growing on the 

 trunk below disappearing long before those on the 

 spire, which bends to every blast. The keys of 

 the hornbeam come twirling down : the hornbeam 

 and the birch are characteristic trees of the London 

 landscape the latter reaches a great height and 

 never loses its beauty, for when devoid of leaves 

 the feathery spray-like branches only come into 

 view the more. 



The abundant bird life is again demonstrated as 

 the evening approaches. Along the hedgerows, at 

 the corners of the copses, wherever there is the 

 least cover, so soon as the sun sinks the black- 

 birds announce their presence by their calls. Their 

 11 ching-chinging " sounds everywhere; they come 

 out on the projecting branches and cry, then fly 

 fifty yards further down the hedge, and cry again. 

 During the day they may not have been noticed, 

 scattered as they were under the bushes, but the 

 dusky shadows darkening the fields send them 

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