At Asa Gray’s request, responds to CD’s questions about WMC’s observations on Dionaea and particularly about the size of the insects captured and the excitability of the leaves after an insect is captured.

He does not accept Wallace’s definition of instinct because it excludes "inherited experience", i.e., "knowledge acquired by and transmitted through ancestors".

House-flies do not seem to have an instinctive fear of trap-door spiders.

Miss Forster gives him news of CD.

A letter of recommendation for W. B. Dawkins in his application for the Woodwardian professorship of geology in the university of Cambridge.

Cannot find a publisher for Italian translation of Expression. Gives up the project.

Would like a museum set up illustrating origins, varieties, and uses of domestic animals; seeks CD’s approval of the idea.

Forwards Matthew Arnold’s Literature and dogma [1873].

Hopes they can secure Hooker for President of Royal Society.

Thanks MA for his Literature and dogma [1873].

Encloses cheque for 1000 guineas, CD’s share of profits on first 7000 copies of Expression.

Gives a case of peculiar behaviour in cats that apparently is inherited.

Remarks on the "grief-muscles" shown in a Dürer picture.

Returns family documents about "Kepler" [William Huggins’ dog, see Collected papers 2: 170–1]; there is still some sort of investigation into the "precise mental condition" of "Kepler" and his relatives.

Is drawing up the account of his crossing experiments. Requests JDH to add the families after nine genera, the names of which he encloses. Whenever there is no objection he would like to arrange the families in some sort of natural order.

Recommends Spalding’s article on instinct in Macmillan’s Magazine [27 (1873): 265–81].

Sends copy of Vinzenz Czerny [Beziehungen der Chirurgie (1872)], which applies Darwinian principles to pathology.

Recommends illustrations dealing with expression in the Atlas of K. H. Baumgärtner’s Kranken-Physiognomik [1839].

Thanks for information on worm-castings. Comments on disintegration of castings.

Reports that he has the power of moving his left ear towards the top of his head [see Descent 1: 21].

The editor of a supplement to the New Free Press to be published during the next Vienna Exhibition, asks CD to contribute a few columns on any topic.

Recommends a language teacher.

Remarks on expression.

Delighted with John Traherne Moggridge’s book [Harvesting ants (1873)].

Has suggested he plant seeds in various receptacles. Only two explanations for failure of seeds to germinate [in ants’ nests]: lack of circulating air or formic acid.

Has undertaken a botany primer for Macmillan.

Will see whether formic acid delays germination of fresh seeds.

Thinks primer not at all a folly. Refers JDH to Asa Gray’s "child’s book" [see 8363].

Comments on CD’s and William Huggins’ letter in Nature on "Inherited instinct" [Collected papers 2: 170–1]

and on A. R. Wallace’s letter on the homing faculty of animals. Believes many instances of homing are less remarkable than they appear.