April 21, 1953
Dear Dr. Lederberg,
Please forgive my delay in answering your kind letter.  Actually, I had been hoping to receive some sort of official word here, regarding my proposed trip to your laboratory by this time.  Unfortunately, I still have received no definite information but I feel that I may be able to arrange for an extended stay at your lab.
Meanwhile, I have attempted, without any success, to locate the Salmonella, Group B, non-motile cultures which you requested.  It would appear that the army officers formerly in charge of diagnostic cultures have long since departed.  I examined all available records and failed to find any evidence of receipt of these cultures.  In addition, there do not seem to be any other isolates of S. napoli.  However, I have asked the officer presently in charge of the diagnostic lab here to recheck as well as to save any future cultures which may arrive.
At the moment, we have completed some experiments with DNAase which indicated no effect on the transduction of xylose and streptomycin resistance.  We have also been using a number of other Vi phages in experiments with auxotrophic mutants in order to determine whether all phages in the series are active.
I am rather anxious to discuss the situation with you and am hoping that the necessary arrangements for an extended stay at your lab can be accomplished.
Sincerely yours,
Louis S. Baron