1 6 The Oologists' Record, March i, 1921. 



far as the Dead Sea depression. Along the whole length oi the sea 

 coast is a fringe of sand dunes succeeded by a fertile belt of undulating 

 country under cultivation and several miles in width, cereals being 

 predominant south of Ludd and north of Jaffa, while the inter- 

 vening area is chiefly utilized for vineyards and groves of oranges, 

 almonds and olives, with a certain proportion of eucalyptus spinnies 

 and copses for fuel purposes. Running north and south through the 

 centre of the land are the rocky limestone hills of Judea and Samaria^ 

 separated from the Hills of Nazareth and the country of Dan by the . 

 fertile, black cotton soil plain of Esdraelon, only a few miles in width, 

 and situated between Haifa on the coast and Beisan (the ancient 

 Bethshan) on the Jordan. 



This plain is bounded for half its length on the south by the main 

 spur of Mount Carmel, which rises abruptly from the sea at Haifa 

 and runs in an easterly direction for about 18 miles, in the many 

 subsidiary spurs to the S.E. Between the cultivated undulating 

 coastal area and the hills is a narrow strip of very fertile black cotton 

 soil in which cereals are grown. The hills of Carmel are scrub-covered, 

 there being many evergreens and aromatic herbs. Olive and fig 

 trees are abundant and produce heavy crops. Vines also thrive,, 

 and the local inhabitants try to cultivate cereals on terraces of the 

 poorest and most scanty soil. 



The Jordan Valley, in the vicinity of the river and its marshes, 

 is full of a dense and tall jungle of tamarisk, reeds and papyrus, 

 and other cover, which, more often than not, is quite impenetrable. 

 The eastern slopes of the hills are in many places very bare, especially 

 in the vicinity of the Dead Sea, and very precipitous with an almost 

 total absence of vegetation. 



In the hills small springs abound, though frequently the water 

 only flows on the surface for a few yards and then disappears into 

 the ground. 



Three perennial streams, the Wadys Farah, Auja and Kelt, 

 flow into the Jordan, while on the west the River Kishon, Wadys 

 Zerka, Auja and Rubin are the only streams which reach the sea 

 the whole year round, and not one of them is more than a very few 

 miles in' length. 



The streams flowing to the coast usually broaden at their mouths 

 into extensive marshy areas which abound with bird life. 



