ANOTHER life-boat balloon race has been held, this time by the St. Albans and Harpenden branch, in connexion with its life-boat day, last September.

Altogether 800 balloons were sent up.

Each had a label attached, bearing the name and address of the sender, a space for the name and address of the finder, an announcement of five shillings reward to the finder of the winning bal- loon and a request that the label should be returned to the Mayor of St. Albans.

Some of the balloons did not travel very far. The one sent up by Miss Silvester, the honorary secretary of the branch, floated through a window of her own house. Another was found in the garden of its sender, and of 164 labels returned the majority were picked up in Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk; but nineteen of the balloons reached the Continent. One was found in France, four in Belgium, five in Holland, eight in Germany, and one in Poland. The balloon which reached Poland, and came down at Pyszczynr, had travelled 807 miles, farther, as the local Polish paper said, in announcing the discovery, than many of the competitors for the Gordon Bennett Cup. This balloon also beat by 387 miles the winning balloon in the race held by the Down- patrick branch, Northern Ireland, in July of last year, which was picked up in the Pas de Calais. By an odd coincidence the sender of the balloon found in Poland knew Polish and could translate the letter which came with the returned label.

One of the balloons picked up in Germany was returned with a map to show where it had been found, and another was returned by a station- master on the Lower Rhine, who wrote: " If you have any difficulty in remitting the money, a small token would be appreciated." The senders of the three balloons which travelled farthest won prizes.

These prizes had been presented to the branch. Five shillings was sent to the finder of the balloon which tra- velled farthest of all. The Mayor of St. Albans wrote personally to those finders abroad who had written to him, and sent them each a life-boat ash-tray and a copy of the booklet " The Life-boat Service." The race was such a success that it is to be an annual event..