The Crusaders commenced their march towards Palestine at the end of the month of May.[150] The inhabitants of Phœnicia had finished their harvest. The Christians found provisions everywhere, and admired on their passage the rich productions of Asia, which they already looked upon as the reward of their labours. On their left rose the mountains of Libanus, so often celebrated by the prophets; between the mountains and the sea, the fields they traversed were covered with olive-trees, which grew to the height of elms and oaks; in the plains and on the hills were oranges, pomegranates, and many other sorts of trees unknown in the West. Among these new productions one plant, the juice of which was sweeter than honey, above all attracted the attention of the pilgrims: this plant was the sugar-cane. It was cultivated in several of the provinces of Syria, and particularly in the territory of Tripoli, where they had found means of extracting from it the substance which the inhabitants called _zucra_[151] According to Albert d’Aix, this plant had afforded great assistance to the Christians when assailed by famine at the sieges of Maarah and Archas. This plant, now become of such importance in commerce, had been till this time unknown in the West. The pilgrims made it known in Europe, and towards the end of the crusades it was transported into Italy and Sicily, whilst the Saracens introduced it into the kingdom of Grenada, whence the Spaniards afterwards conveyed it to Madeira and the American colonies.[152] When the pilgrims were all united to continue their march to Palestine, they must doubtless have been struck with terror as they contemplated the losses they had experienced. More than two hundred thousand Crusaders had been cut off by battles, famine, misery, and disease. A great number of them, unable to support the fatigues of the holy pilgrimage, and losing all hope of seeing Palestine, had returned to the West. Many had taken up their abode in Antioch, Edessa, and other cities from which they had driven the inhabitants, and which they were obliged to defend against the infidels. With all these deductions, the army which was to achieve the conquest of the Holy Land scarcely numbered fifty thousand fighting men under the banners. The leaders, however, did not hesitate to pursue their enterprise. They who did remain in the ranks had borne every trial; they did not drag in their train a useless, embarrassing multitude; and it was much more easy to supply them with provisions and establish order and discipline amongst them. Strengthened in some sort by their losses, they were perhaps more formidable than they were at the siege of Nice. The remembrance of their exploits increased their confidence and courage, and the terror which their arms inspired might well make the Saracens believe that their army was still innumerable.