July 13, 1951.

Dr. BE D. Delamater,
Department of Dermatology,
University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia 4 Pa.

Dear Ed:

Thanks very moh for your letter and slide. It reached here before
we did: this, and the same problem of getting the lab. in order again
accounts for the delay in ay reply.

I have spent some time in looking at our own coli preps., as well as
the megaterium slide you sent. I find no difficulty in picking out
cells which support bacterial altosis a la Relamater, and as I told you
I think this is a very plausible interpretation, both on general grounds,
and from the material. On the other hand, ay conscleme tells mo that it
would be extremely easy to delude oneself with this sort of material.
The “centrioles” do not always show up in figures whose oriaatation
would lead you to expect them; sppetines there are extra granules not
easily explained, and ao on, Worst of all, however, I find it difficult
to formulate criteria of proof, as against plausibility. My general
conclusion is that I am glad not to be a cytologiats obliged to make
up ay mind.

On the other hand, I think that your suggestions are going to throw
some naw vitality into the field, if only because of the ruckus they may
stir up. More conenesély, I have some fresh hope of being able to inter~
pret the diplpid-haplodid comparisons in terss of chromosomal units. All of
us are going to lock and analyse our material a good deal more intelligently,
4.a., in terms of a specific hypothesis of karyokinesis. Poulson made
a suggestion worth considering: namely that there are diffuse centromeres.
On this basis, the strands of staining material (Feulgen-positive) that
Robinow and others properly insist upon as lingering between the separating
chromatinic masses( especially in B. mycoides), might be the interzonal
bodies of similar behavior in certain insects.

Can I ask you one other favor? Before comaitting us to the bother of
a subsero setup [and if you could say how cramped we were you'd know what
I mean] I should like to see the advahhages of coryeflehydration in material
we are familiar with, namely E-12. If you would be willing to send us such
a preparation on loan - and if you're feeling particularly expansive, also
one of your beautiful coocus, we would appreciate it very mich.

Esther and I enjoyed the pleasure of meeting both of you.
Sincerely,