WHAT IS INTELLIGENCE? 191 



as we saw there was a similar region for the salivary 

 glands. Such a specialized portion of the grey matter of 

 the central nervous system is a center, in this case." 



Now it is plain that if some gravel or other substance 

 should get over the end of the periscope so as to interfere 

 with the entrance of the light or getting a good clear view 

 of the outside surroundings, it would be the business of 

 the party in charge of that end of the periscope to remove 

 the obstruction. Although it would annoy and irritate 

 the parties at the other end, still it would be none of their 

 business to remove it, in fact they are so far removed 

 from the place that they could not attend to it if they 

 would. 



So the parties in charge of the other end of the peri- 

 scope take care of the trouble, and remove the grit or 

 obstruction without any orders from any one higher up. 

 He procures water and washes it off in the same manner 

 as the cells cause water to flow over the eye, with the pur- 

 pose of washing away the grit. Any one can clearly see 

 that every nerve centre, whether it is composed of one cell 

 or a thousand, when it has charge of any special matter 

 like this, must be possessed of intelligence. The only 

 purpose of these nerve centres or "little brains," as they 

 are sometimes called, is to receive information and give 

 orders to other cells who work under them. No beings 

 can take charge of the activities of other beings and guide 

 their actions to do or not to do the right thing at the right 

 time, unless they are intelligent beings. It requires just 

 as much intelligence to capture a fortification as to give 

 the order to do it. To sum up the nerve centre question, 

 I shall again quote Prof. Harris as to what it is, and how 

 each collection of cells attends to its own business and 

 nothing else. He says : 



"A centre is a group of nerve-cells so constituted that 



