Thanks for Hedwig and Broughton books, specimens of British plants, information on a cabinet for dried plants, and list of botanical books. List of books to be purchased for University Library, including: [William] Curtis' "Flora Londinensis", [Nikolaus von] Jacquin's "Flora Austriaca", "Icones plantare rariorum", and "Miscellanea Austriaca", [Casimir Christoph] Schmidel's "Dissertationes botanices", [Anders] Retzius' "Fasciculus observationum botanicarum", and Meerberg's "Icones Ludg. Bat.".

General regret at Dr Lubbock's departure from Edinburgh. Account of botanical expedition to Ben Lomond in the autumn, previously undertaken with Smith and Hardy, lists plants found, including: 'Lythrum salicaria', 'Lysimachia vulgaris', 'Sedum rubens', 'Telephium', 'Convolvulus sepium', 'Malva moschata', 'Scirpus maritimus', 'Ruppia maritima', 'Lobelia dortmanna', 'Isoetis sacustris', and bark of 'Osmunda regalis'. Asks if Smith has ascended the highest English mountain, in "Yorkshire", as he intended. Comments on 'Cynosurus caerulens'. Comments on the "pompous" Dr Samuel Ferries, who has moved to London from Scotland.

Disappointed to not be seeing Smith in Edinburgh this winter. [William] Younge "storms & rages" at Smith's change of plans. Arrival of frost and snow here disrupting cryptogamic studies; difficulties of studying such plants. Account of Dr Walker's autumn botanical expedition to Ben Lomond, found 'Anthericum calyculatum', 'Dryas octopetala', 'Scutellaria minor' and 'S. galericulata'. Asks if Smith is acquainted with Dr Parsons. Hardy and Ainslie are competitors for a vacant professorship at Oxford or Cambridge.

[Note by John Hope at bottom of verso of second folio] comments on 'Gentiana' root of the shops, said to be root of a cultivated plant.

Count Castigliani of Milan.