Lankester writes that he will ask Mr E. Clarke at the Natural History Museum, Edinburgh, to lend him the skull of the okapi. He asks Ewart to cut out a flat piece from the skull (to be replaced afterwards) to aid him in his examination.

Lankester writes that he would like to have the Sarawak horse's skull for the British Museum, as well as some Roman horses. He asks Ewart if he would give the Swiney lectures on 'the history and palaeontology of horses' or 'horses of the past and present', as Scharff has postponed giving them until the following year. Lankester states that he believes the preorbital depression in the modern horse's skull once held a gland.

Lankester thanks Ewart for the proof of his 'horse paper' and reports that he is setting up a complete skeleton of a Przewalski's horse from Woburn. He asks Ewart to tell Mr Linton to send the Roman horse to him at the British Museum.

The year is not written on the letter.

Lankester invites Ewart to visit him at the museum of Exeter College, Oxford to show him carmine staining techniques on a sturgeon skull and other fish specimens. He also suggests that Ewart should visit the college in order to initiate some of the preparations of fish specimens at the Museum. He also suggests several book titles for Ewart's studies.

Lankester announces his resignation from the Chair of Natural History at the University of Edinburgh, and states that he will be staying at University College London. He gives the main reasons for his resignation as 'ten months are required in Edinburgh instead of three as I supposed, and that there are no laboratories nor a museum, nor likely to be for many years to come' and that the Executive Commission 'may reduce the value of the post to any extent.'