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Cecil writes that he will get his mares home with 'Duchess' and 'En Labi' from Dumfries. He reports that he has now caught the Connemara stallion which he is happy to exchange for Ewart's grey. His guinea pig experiments crossing a red with a brown have produced one curious result but the rest are uninteresting.

Scope and Contents Cecil writes that he has written to the Secretary of the Carnegie Institute and hopes that Ewart's trip is a success. He mentions that he has been in touch with Forsyth about their forthcoming visit to Skye where they are considering circulating memoranda about ponies among the crofters under the auspices of the Congested Districts Board. Forsyth has stated that he would like to start a stud farm in Kilmuir. Cecil believes that he considers Fincastle's cross-breeding of Arab sires and...

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Cecil agrees with Fincastle's remarks that the cross-bred horses for the crofters should maintain quality as well as increase size and comments upon various mutual correspondents. He states that he met a man called Scott who is going to send two Highland ponies and 'Braemore' and comments that the ponies on the east side of Skye appear to be identical to those on the Isle of Rum.

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Cecil describes the estimate he has provided to the Congested Districts Board as to the price of the studs and horses intended for cross-breeding with the crofters' animals.

Scope and Contents Cecil is puzzled that Ewart mixed Spanish and horse blood and produced a Celtic pony, as he would have thought the mix would have produced the Island pony. He reports that Ritchie is annoyed that his neighbours prefer to use a crofters' pony to the Arab breed. He has written to Forsyth asking him to let the pony 'Atholl' to stand at the head of the Monkstadt stud (the experimental farm of the Congested Districts Board) on the Isle of Skye. He writes that he saw the best Highland ponies he...

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Cecil writes that he hopes Lord Middleton will buy 'McNeil' as he would suit his mares at Applecross and describes the Middletons' tour around the West Highlands of Scotland to view the crofters' ponies. He reports that a half-Welsh, half-Hackney horse cross has provided successful at Baron Schroder's in Strathcarron and at Guisachan. He is surprised to learn that none of the crossbred ponies are fetching a higher price in the market than the old crofters' breed of ponies.

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Cecil writes that he was sorry Ewart was not able to visit him, as he wanted to discuss aspects of the Shetland cow with him, some of which remind him of Indian cattle. He asks whether either Ewart or the University are inclined to continue with the Jersey-Shetland crossing experiments.

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The letter requests more detailed particulars about Lord Cecil's pony than Ewart previously provided. The purchasers intend to cross the stallion with Shetland mares to produce a reliable carting and ploughing pony for crofters.

Scope and Contents Bateson writes to Cecil asking for his experience of cross-breeding poultry with other species of birds. Bateson writes that he aims to conduct experiments to determine whether certain distinguishing features of breeds can be blended in crossing, and what differences there are in crossing pure-bred and inbred breeds. He notes that he has been experimenting with White Leghorn chickens, but that he has had difficulty in finding breeds of a strictly recorded pedigree, specifically red combed...