218 Trof. E. R. Leivis — Localities for Fossil Fish in the Lebanon. 



from Beiriit. We follow the sea-coast to Jebail (the ancient Byblus), 

 a small seaport town between Beirtit and Tripoli, then strike N.E., 

 over the debris of old and ruined temples and towers which once 

 covered the place towards Amshit, leave it on the left, and turn 

 nearly east, following the windings of a ridge which looks abruptly 

 down upon deep valleys on either side. The road is at first covered 

 with fragments of limestone, abounding in cavities, and, in places, 

 composed almost entirely of Nerincea abhreviata, Conrad, and N. 

 mamillcB, Fraas, all very large specimens ; but soon this ceases, and 

 the road passes over an almost horizontal stratum of unfossiliferous 

 limestone, much resembling, in general appearance, the limestone 

 slabs from Hakel. The travelling soon becomes slow and tedious. 

 The road is bounded by stone walls, which limit the fields on either 

 side, and the stones gathered year by year from these fields are 

 thrown into the road, which gradually becomes elevated above the 

 fields. These broken fragments, worn smooth by travel, are as 

 unable to give foothold as is the shingle of a beach, and the horse's 

 feet sink deep at every step, making progress slow and \\n- 

 comfortable. In about four hard hours after leaving Jebail, Hakel 

 is reached. M. Botta says of it: "Ce lieu est dans une vallee profonde 

 situee a une grande hauteur au-dessus de la mer car il faut monter 

 pendant six heures pour y arriver et les nuages la parcourent." This 

 is hardly correct, though quoted by M. Alois Humbert without 

 comment; for, after the first ascent behind Jebail, the road keeps 

 a general level, sonaetimes rising and sometimes falling, but never 

 rising much higher than the points at the back of Jebail, some of 

 which are constantly in sight, and, finally, a considerable descent is 

 made just before reaching Hakel. I had no instrument with me for 

 determining the height accurately, but took, as a landmark, a well- 

 known convent near the sea, which was always in sight until Hakel 

 was nearly reached, and whose height is about 600 feet above the 

 sea. Near Hakel, with the convent and Hakel both in sight, I esti- 

 mated the height of the latter place at 800 or 1000 feet only, and 

 its distance from the sea in a straight line at about six miles. 1 

 passed Hakel, and followed the valley nearly a mile, until the sides 

 of the ravine nearly closed together, and to where the valley itself 

 was choked by masses of fallen rock, and there, below the celebrated 

 fish quarries, pitched my tent, Tuesday, September 18th, 1877, and 

 remained there until the 28th. Circumstances were unexpectedly 

 favourable for me, and I collected a large and valuable lot of most 

 superb specimens, many of them entirely new species, and some of 

 them increasing very materially our knowledge of the relation of 

 this place to the Sahel Alma locality. I was enabled also to obtain 

 a more correct idea of the place, and a few most interesting facts 

 respecting the origin of the valley and the cause of the present 

 position of the strata in which the fish are found. 



I have said that M. Humbert is the only one who has visited and 

 described the place ; and his description, though brief, is correct. 

 Just before reaching Hakel we round a hill and descend its side 

 rather abruptly, until the village is reached in the bottom of a deep 



