James Edward Smith, Norwich, [Norfolk], to Sir Thomas Gery Cullum, Bury St Edmunds, [Suffolk]

Recovered from several violent catarrhous complaints and coughs. Also heard a good account of [Aylmer Bourke] Lambert and the Linnean Society, "both are in good preservation". He and others doubt the eligibility of Cullum's proposal for an annual Linnean Society medal for best paper, "pure fame is a better object than gold". Currently working on the syngenesious class of Greek plants, which will finish third part of "Florae Graecae Prodromus". Recently wrote lives of Philip Miller and [Robert] Morison [(1620-1683), botanist] for [Abraham] Rees' "Cyclopedia", and [Francis] Masson's [(1741-1805), Kew plant collector] has just appeared [in a footnote to this paragraph Cullum has noted that Smith was paid £3000 for his contributions to the "Cyclopedia"]. Praises Hooker's work "Jungermanniae"