1891,
June 27
(No 2)
England.
Chster. - feet in height we came to an extension
woods composed almost wholly of Scotch
pines of fair size with a sprinkling of
Norway spruces, birches and mountain ash.
The ground was level and swampy with 
many ditches filled with black, stagnant water.
The pines and spruces grew rather closely
together and effect of the peculiarly dark
foliage of the former was positively depressing.
The ground beneath these trees was nearly
everywhere covered with beds of rank brakes
(like ours) and brown into which the foot
sank deep at every step.There were many
lopped off pine tops lying about for the
trees are cut down as soon as they attain
a marketable size (the forest belongs to
"the Crown").
  As I stood in a wood path near the
middle of this swamp I found it difficult
to realize that I was in England. The
place had a wild, half-savage look like
that of a Maine or New Brunswick Caribou
bog but it bore no real resemblance to any
forest that I have ever seen before. The
dark, almost black look of the pines and
the luxuriant waist-high ferns were the
most impressive features.
  We heard Magpies in three different places
and caught glympses of two, besides finding
a dead one that the keepers had recently
shot. They are exceedingly shy but despite