194 CELL INTELLIGENCE THE CAUSE OF EVOLUTION 



anger, will cause the heart to beat very rapidly. Nerve 

 centres in some parts of the spine or brain will get con- 

 trol and direct the activities of the brain. The nerve cen- 

 tres in charge of balancing, walking, etc., are located in 

 the spinal cord. These acts are very complicated and to 

 be able to direct the execution by the muscles of the very 

 complicated and difficult acts with speed and dexterity, 

 certainly requires great intelligence. 



The nerve centres will look after their business even 

 if the animal's head is cut off. For instance, a dog with 

 his head cut off or his brain removed will try to scratch 

 the place on his shoulder which you irritate in imitation of 

 a flee bite. In the same way a frog with his head cut 

 off will scratch away from his body a piece of paper with 

 acid on it, which is burning the skin. 



These experiments show that the skin cells are alive 

 and suffer from pain just the same after the head is cut 

 off as before ; that the nerve centres, whose business it 

 is to order and direct the scratching, take charge 3nd com- 

 pel the leg to scratch the irritation or pain away from that 

 particular spot. Now this is very conclusive proof that 

 conscious intelligence exists in each and every separate 

 cell of the body. How can that dog's leg be made to 

 scratch that spot, unless directed to do so by some con- 

 scious intelligence? It would be impossible. The cells 

 in the nerve centre or little brain of. the spine of the dog, 

 directing all those complicated muscular acts of bringing 

 the hind leg up to the exact spot and scratching it, after 

 having first been informed by the skin cells of the serious 

 trouble, certainly show as much intelligence as any other 

 act directed by the brain cells while his head was attached. 



To be able to direct the scratching to the exact spot 

 shows a will and a purpose, not only a will to do some- 

 thing but an ability to act so as to effect the purpose. In 



