Ijima apologises for the six-month delay in replying to Ewart's letter about warts and ergots. He has gathered some information about them from one of his students, Mr Miyashima, who has examined 143 horses and found them all showing warts and ergots on the hind legs. He has confirmed from Professor Sudo of the Agricultural College that all Japanese horses exhibit the growths in question and therefore any horses without them must derive from imported breeds.

Tamura introduces himself as a graduate of the Agricultural College of the Imperial University of Tokyo and states that he is planning to come to Edinburgh to study livestock breeding. He hopes that Ewart will consent to meet him.