DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.11789#0085
STORKS.
75
the ground; the roof or ceiling was formed by a
series of fine arches, and was supported at the
points between the arches, by a number of columns
of mason work. This building, as we afterwards
learned, was constructed by the Crusaders as a
storehouse for grain. Ramleh has probably from
one to two thousand inhabitants, and although it
now presents a miserable .dilapidated appearance,
the character of its different ruins, shows that it was
once a place of considerable wealth and importance.
Early on the following day we passed the eastern
line of the plain of Sharon, and the rest of our way
lay for the most part through an exceedingly rug-
ged and hilly or rather mountainous country.
During this journey, we saw great numbers of
storks, both on the plain of Sharon and after we
had entered the mountains. They appeared to me
to be about the size of our wild geese, though their
legs are much longer. Their wings are dark, but
the neck, breast, and the greater part of the body
is white or light colored. The hills between Jaffa
and Jerusalem are composed chiefly of solid lime-
stone rock, the strata of which vary exceedingly in
inclination ; sometimes they are nearly horizontal,
and not unfrequently exhibit an undulating or wave-
like appearance. As we approach Jerusalem, the
75
the ground; the roof or ceiling was formed by a
series of fine arches, and was supported at the
points between the arches, by a number of columns
of mason work. This building, as we afterwards
learned, was constructed by the Crusaders as a
storehouse for grain. Ramleh has probably from
one to two thousand inhabitants, and although it
now presents a miserable .dilapidated appearance,
the character of its different ruins, shows that it was
once a place of considerable wealth and importance.
Early on the following day we passed the eastern
line of the plain of Sharon, and the rest of our way
lay for the most part through an exceedingly rug-
ged and hilly or rather mountainous country.
During this journey, we saw great numbers of
storks, both on the plain of Sharon and after we
had entered the mountains. They appeared to me
to be about the size of our wild geese, though their
legs are much longer. Their wings are dark, but
the neck, breast, and the greater part of the body
is white or light colored. The hills between Jaffa
and Jerusalem are composed chiefly of solid lime-
stone rock, the strata of which vary exceedingly in
inclination ; sometimes they are nearly horizontal,
and not unfrequently exhibit an undulating or wave-
like appearance. As we approach Jerusalem, the