178 THE QUEEN-MIND, A CENTRAL FORCE 

 her to vitalize an entire colony. Thus 

 whereas the mind-units of the workers are 

 equal, the queen-mind preponderates and acts 

 as a central force. 



But this case, exceptional as it is, does not 

 affect my original hypothesis, namely, that 

 the group or " swarm," as the case may be, is 

 served by one pervading mind. 



Myers says : " Mutual gravitation or kin- 

 ship of spirits which is the foundation of the 

 telepathic law." 



This concisely describes my understanding 

 of mind-blending as I have applied it to the 

 Animal World. 



It is not necessary for my purpose to dwell 

 on the doings of bees whose proceedings have 

 been so ably treated by more competent 

 writers. But in case it should be urged that, 

 though my theory may possibly account for 

 the act of " swarming," it does not apply to 

 the behaviour of these wonderful creatures 

 when at work in the hive where dissimilar 

 operations are in process at the same time, I 

 therefore propose the following simile, which, 

 notwithstanding that it deals with human 

 units, appears, to some extent, to fit the case. 



Thus, we will compare an insect community 

 to a vessel at sea with a full complement of 

 men. During the voyage from one port to 



