By 1783, polymath Thomas Jefferson, the future third President of the United States, already had a copy of Whately's book in his library at Monticello. During his European years as Minister to France, he also visited England. Eager to explore and gain practical knowledge for his own garden designs, in April 1786, Jefferson set out for a tour of English gardens in the company of his close friend and future second President of the US, John Adams. Whately's treatise guiding him every step of the way, Jefferson's near contemporary statement attests to the accuracy and reliability of Whately's description: