Oxford, England.
1909.
Aug. 5 [August 5, 1909]
  Reached Oxford in late afternoon. After supper took
a rather long but very leisurely walk through the streets
in the neighborhood of the Park. The evening was delightful,
cloudless, calm, deliciously warm. Swifts, Swallows and 
Martins coursing about low over the trees & houses. A
few Robins singing, a Turtle Dove cooing, Blackbirds
calling, Finches of several kinds, among which I recognized
only the chaffinch, chattering and singing a very little in
subdued, broken tones. Evidently the season is already
too late for any very general singing but the town still
swarms with birds. As in 1891 I find it difficult 
to get a good view of any of them. They keep well
hidden in the foliage & seem shy & restless. I
saw one Bat, a small one.
  This part of Oxford is about as thickly settled as
our part of Cambridge. Many of the houses have small
gardens at the rear & nearly all lawns & shrubbery in
front with a profusion of brilliant flowers everywhere - much
more numerous, varied and showy than with us. The trees
are even more impressive & superior to ours. This foliage
is rich & full and wholly free from any injury by insects.
It is of a decidedly richer, deeper green than in trees
of the same species in New England. The horse chestnuts
are especially fine. There are very many evergreens,
yews, cedars, Scotch & Austrian pines, monkey trees etc.