Sending the specimen of wood and petrified moss for the Linnean Society as offered in his previous letter. Has made an experiment on wood growth with a willow similar to the one that Smith has intentions of doing himself, and offers to send a specimen if requested.

A theological observation inspired by Smith's "Introduction to Botany", 'Monocotyledones' and Matthew 6:26-29 ["consider the lily of the fields"].

Sends Smith letters of Linnaeus, [John] Ellis [(1710-1776)], and [Peter] Collinson [(1694-1768)]. Additional note on correspondence of [John] Lightfoot.

Found 'Buxbaumia aphylla' in Peebleshire this autumn, within two miles of the place he gathered it last year; observations. Found a sufficient number of specimens to include it in his "Hortus Cryptogamicus Edinensis", which is just about to be published. The other species, 'Buxbaumia foliosa', is not rare in this area. Encloses specimen of the 'Buxbaumia aphylla'.

Sending a few plants from America but has been prevented from collecting more, promises to send more in future years. Enquires after Lady Smith's mother, news of his own mother, "subdued by grief"by the death of his father, equating her to poetry of Byron.

Too late to suggest examination of his theory that the first flight of woodcocks consists only of males and the second flight of hens and young. Thirkleby has few in any season and the thirty he examined last year were all males, and that from the mildness of the winter thinks no second flight came over. Has only seen four this year so far and they were all males.

Sir Joseph Banks in good health and has only missed dining at the Club two days in the season. Some of the chili seeds sent [from Lima, Peru] by Commodore Bowles [his nephew] are 'Araucaria imbricata'; [James] Lee has raised several. His son called away by Parliament. An unknown bird shot in Wiltshire stubble identified by Nicholas as a "Jamaica quail" from stuffed specimen at Leadbeaters after Banks and [William Elford] Leach erroneously named it as a red-legged partridge, thinks it escaped from a collection.

Hopes Smith received the barrels of oysters he sent. Has not seen [Aylmer Bourke] Lambert for a fortnight, a private report says that Mrs [Catherine] Lambert is "quite deranged". Sir Joseph Banks unwell. The "famous American serpent [...] of immense size and length", mentioned by Aldrovandus [(1522-1605), Italian naturalist] now ascertained to exist after being seen by 300 people at once, and will hopefully be caught soon. Calls in north-west Yorkshire for military patrols following reports of radicals going about publicly armed; Goodenough thinks this "feverish anxiety" will come to a crisis soon, especially as [William] Cobbett [(1763-1835), political writer] has just landed with bones of Thomas Paine [(1737-1809), author and revolutionary].