[This is a double letter. Pulteney has written to Smith in between Lambert's lines of the recto and verso of the first folio]
Lambert staying with [Richard] Pulteney as his house in town is being rebuilt and enlarged, in particular the library. Obtained specimens of all the plants of the Chinese embassy, a "charming collection". Has [Andre] Michaux's [(1746-1802)] "Histoire des chenes de l'Amerique", a "Flora Americana" is to follow. Asks if Smith received the "account" in last month's "magazine of the Spanish botanists". Visited [William] Beckford [(1759-1844)] of Fonthill, [Wiltshire], saw the hothouses and greenhouses, "some of the largest in Europe" and "one of the finest private collections " he had ever seen, including many "Chinese plants in flower". Beckford's gardener Milne [(fl 1800s-1810s)], who lived with [Richard] Salisbury, is "one of the best [...] botanic gardeners in England". Milne is sending four men to collect plants for Beckford, currently in Jamaica, with letters of introduction to [Archibald] Menzies and [Robert] Brown. Requests that when Smith sends willow specimens to send Milne cuttings of all he and [James] Crowe can spare as he is making a "very large botanic garden".
Pulteney sends greetings, kept up to date in botanical matters by the monthly receipt of "English Botany". Wishes Smith success with "Flora Graeca", feels increasingly frail.