22 MARCH 1957, Page 15

ANIMAL TELEPATHY Niall finds it inexplicable that starlings have a

wonderful capacity to act in unison.

Gumbril Senior in Huxley's Antic Hay suggests telepathy as the explanation. I think telepathic com- munication between animals and man, or even between animals and place (though perhaps this latter is stretching it a bit) would explain many animal mysteries. For instance—homing pigeons returning to base by reason of telepathic communica- tion with the mate they were taken from; the dog returning to its owner across unknown territory; and a spaniel my father had which used to run into the road and lie down before his approaching car when it was too far off for•the rest of us to tell it from the millions of others of the same make and colour.

There is a telepathic relationship between human lovers so that they sometimes (apparently by accident) converge on the same spot at the same time —so why not credit animals with telepathic know- ledge ?,--You rs faithfully,

7 Lilac Grove, Billinge, Wigan