England.
1911.
July 1-31
(No 2)

Unusual heat.
Progress of drought.

Nor did I ever have occasion to put on an overcoat while walking
or seated out-of-doors (I did so once or twice while motoring) even at morning
or evening when the air was commonly delightfully fresh and heavily
charged with the fragrance of flowers, or new mown grass or of resinous
pine foliage. Altogether it seemed to me ideally perfect summer
weather although the English complained bitterly of what they termed
the excessive heat - as did also some of the American tourists.
According to the newspapers it was the dryest summer that had
been known for over fifty years and the hottest for twenty five years.
As the month wore on the country become more and more drought- 
stricken until at its close there was scarce a grass field or lawn in
all England which was not, for the most part, as sere and brown as
our fields look in early spring or very late autumn. Indeed the only lawns
which showed much green were those which had been copiously watered and
these were few in number for the garden hose is comparatively little used
in England being ordinarily not required there. The grain fields had