"Opposite the village of Inchene, and on the eastern shore of the Nile, I found petrified plants, which grow naturally in a space about two leagues long, by a very moderate breadth; this is one of the most singular productions of nature. These plants resemble the white coral found in the Red Sea[240:B]."
"There are petrifications of divers kinds on Mount Libanus, and among others flat stones, where the skeletons of fish are found well preserved and entire; red chesnuts and small branches of coral, the same as grow in the Red Sea, are also found on this mountain."
"On Mount Carmel we find a great quantity of hollow stones, which have something of the figure of melons, peaches, and other fruits, which are said to be so petrified: they are commonly sold to pilgrims, not only as mere curiosities, but also as remedies against many disorders. The olives which are the lapides jadaici, are to be met with at the druggists, and
have always been looked upon, when dissolved in the juice of lemon, as a specific for the stone and gravel."
"M. la Roche, a physician, gave me some of these petrified olives, which grew in great plenty in these mountains, where I am told are found other stones, the inside of which perfectly resemble the natural parts of men and women. These are Hysterolithes."
"In going from Smyrna to Tauris, when we were at Tocat, says Tavernier, the heat was so great, as obliged us to quit the common road, and go by the mountains, where there is constantly shade and refreshing air. In many places we found snow and a quantity of very fine sorrel, and on the top of some of those mountains we found shells like those upon the sea shores, which was very extraordinary."
Here follows what Olearius says on the subject of petrified shells, which he remarked in Persia, and in the rocks where the sepulchres are cut out, near to the village of Pyrmaraus:
"We were three in company that ascended to the top of the rock by the most frightful precipices, mutually assisting each other; having gained the summit, we found four large
chambers, and within many niches cut in the rocks to serve for beds: but what the most surprised us was to find in this vault, on the top of the mountain, muscle shells; and in some places they were in such great quantities, that the whole rock appeared to be composed only of sand and shells. Returning to Persia, we perceived many of these shelly mountains along the coast of the Caspian sea."
To these I could subjoin many other authorities which I suppress, not willing to tire those who have no need of superabundant proofs, and who are convinced by their sight, as I have been, of the existence of shells wherever we chuse to seek for them.