IV. MEDIUMISTIC " RAPPORT " AND 

 TELEPATHY 



THE hypothesis of a psychic automatism of a 

 mediumistic type, as a concomitant pheno- 

 menon, at least, in experiments of the " new 

 zoopsychology," offers us a point of support for a 

 possible interpretation of the strange uncertainty and 

 irregularity of the successes and failures of different 

 observers and different animals. 



With Krall two of his horses gave magnificent results ; 

 two others negative results. In the same way, with the 

 same dogs some experimenters obtain wonders, others 

 obtain nothing. . . . We may therefore assume that in 

 order to obtain favourable results there must be a proper 

 accord or reciprocal psychic concordance between the 

 animal and the person making the experiment, precisely 

 as happens with mediumistic phenomena. 



Moreover, this hypothesis in the same way helps us to 

 an interpretation of the fact that the same animal, with the 

 same investigator, gives good results in some matters, 

 poor or no result in others. Taking, however, due account 

 of the central mathematical phenomena, on which, as it 

 seems to me, the whole edifice is superposed, there remains 

 a great variety of marked psychical idiosyncrasies in the 

 various cases. One of the animals is decidedly a calcu- 

 lator ; another likes to read or to explain figures ; another 

 detests reading but willingly taps out " spontaneous 

 communications." 



168 



