INDIANA UNIVERSITY
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA

October 26, 1953

Dr, Joshua Lederberg
Department of Genetics
University of Wisconsin
Madison 6, Wisconsin

Dear Josh:

As always, you are umerstanding, kind, and forgiving -- with your
two Indiana problems: Dave and me. I was campletely sincere in my
willingness to turn the book over to you and would indeed feel
immensely relieved if you would shoulder it alone or with my part
being more like the part you had originally conceived as yours. I
herewith make the proposition subject to your acceptance at any time,
now or later.

I'm definitely interested in your suggestion that we spend a summer
together, and the coming summer is a possibility. At present ny
summer is shaping up something like this: Grell, of Tlbingen, hopes
to spend two months in my laboratory learning methods and they may
fall in the summer; also Inoki will probably not leave till the end of
June. I have told Grell I like to be free for vacation during part of
August and September and have advised him to arrange his tim with me
so that it will be completed before the end of July. He wishes also
to spend some time at Woods Hole and I have advised him of course to
be there after June 15 and before September 10. It is possible that a
sort of Protozoan seminar may be assembled around him. In any case, I
am planning a vacation towards the end of the summer. I'm entitled to
a month, though I often take mich less. Woods Hole is our favorite
vacation place: my wife loves the people and the ocean and so do I,
particularly since there is so much of interest going on there.

What then would you think of the following plan? Let's both get to

Woods Hole some time after July 31 and stay a month. We could work
half-day or more on the book and still get a vacation. I'd not feel

free to get there before August 1; but perhaps you and Esther would
consider coming here some time before that, so we could have a longer
working period. I cannot urge you to come here because the summers

are beastly and one cannot stay always in the air-conditioned lab; but

if that means nothing to you, we'd love to have you. In any case, I'm
tentatively hoping to begin serious work on the book some time during
June or July. I'll be free of teaching from February 1 till September 20
in 1954 and my only absolutely required writing during that period is

a detailed review on our antigen work (though there is much more I'd like
to do). It might be a good idea for us to get together a short time
after I finish the antigen paper (which I cannot start till after
February 1) and before I start on the book, I'd like very much to visit
Madison and may drive up, perhaps during Spring vacation. It would suit
Dr. Joshua Lederberg Page 2 October 26, 1953

me better to keep this visit free fram lectures and in any case I
would not want expenses paid. But we can develop our plans further
some months hence. I occasionally have to go to Chicago and, if such
an opportunity should come during the spring, I may seize that chance
to visit with you if it is convenient for you.

Well, you see your letter has really catalyzed a response that surprises
even me. If we agree on the Woods Hole plan, we should not long delay
arranging for accommodations there. Are you a member of the Corporation?
There are some limitations on reserving a library table for work, I think.
Perhaps we should try to get a small room between us in the laboratory,

Your note on Sertic's acriflavine observation is intriguing. We too
should try this. We have no data on cataphoretic differences. I looked
for that long ago with respect to the mating types. You probably know
that paramecia are not passively carried along, but orient towards and
actively swim to the cathode. Thanks for the mimeograrhed notes you
sent me. I have not digested them yet. As I think I wrote you, I have
no further mimeographed sheets; but I do have very full and detailed
lecture notes. I'm sending you a copy of my Congress paper. Since that
was written, we have evidence that the macronuclear anlagen arise from
the two posterior nuclei, just the opposite of Tetrahymena, as I suspected
might be the case.

With very best wishes to you and Esther,

As always,

T. M. Sonneborn
md

i. /
PS pat hank Ha acini oppsnshe Meron FOS