. 42 BEDFORDSHIRE. stable, and at Leighton·Buzzard a cell to Woburn Abbey. These cell~ seem to have been all removed at an early period. At Northill was a college of Priests. There were ancient hospitals at Dun stable, Farleigh, Hock­ liffe, and Toddington, and two at Bedford, dedicated to St. John and St. Leonard. FOSSILS. 'rhis county does not abound in fossils either native or ex.traneou~. It has been said indeed that gold ore was formerly discovered at Pollux­ hill, and that an attempt was made to work a. lliine there : but it is pro­ bable that this idea originated in mistake. Woodward mentions "a mass of ye1low shining talc, with a yellow earthy matter mixt with it," as found ~t this place : probably a similar substance was mistaken for gold, by per­ sons not skilled in mineralogy. • The greater part of the extraneous fossils which occur in this county, are found in the stratum oflime-stone, which follows the course of the river Ouse. This stratum abounds with the different kinds of shells, and other marine productions, "'hich are commonly found em bedded in the yellow lime-stone. Cornua Ammonis, and other kinds of shells, are found in the stratum of stone in the Toternhoe quarries, which lies above that which is used for building ; and great abundance of petrified wood, together with gryphites, belemnites, &c. u~der the stratum of fuller's-earth, at Aspley. Petrified wood has also been found in other parts of this county, where the soil is sandy. The petrifying spring spoken of by Fuller and other writers does not exist. 'Vood mentions nautili, and other shells, as found in a chalk-pit at Cad­ dington; shark's teeth, ammonites, belemnites, &c. in a light coloured cluy near Leighton ; and echini in the fields near Eaton-bray. · RARE PLANTS. The botanical history of this' county has been industriously inve£tigated by the Rev. Dr. Abbot, of Bedford, who has published a very ample Flora of its indigenous plants. Among the most rare are Lythrum hyssopifo­ lium, which grows plentifnlly in the fields between Oakley and Clapham. Malaxis paludosa, which grows in the neighbourhood of Potton; Campa­ nula latifolia and Eriophoron polystachion, near Dunstable; Geranium Phceum, near E vershol t ;. Hyoseris minima, near Aspley and A.mpthill ; Cen­ tunculus minimus, near Ampthill; Ornithogalurn P_yrenaicum; near Eaton~ Socon ; Hypochreris glabra; Salix rubrq ; iWelampyrurn cristaturn ; Alisma ranunculoides; lnula Helenium; Trisolium ochroleucum; Carex strigosa, and Phlceum paniculatum. One should be almost inclined to suppose that the seeds of the Draba muralis and Erodium moschatum, two Northern plants founcl by Dr. Abbot in . Bedfordshire since the publication of his Flora, had been introduced into this by some botanist.. Many rare plants .