10 OCTOBER 1952, Page 14

SPECTATOR COMPETITION No. 139 Set by John Usborne The usual

prize is offered for the best fable (Kiplingesque) explaining one of the following : a dog's circumambulations before curling up bt' the fire ; the cuckoo's parasitic habits ; the fact that the new hybrid tea-rose, " Doctor," cannot be photographed close-up .because its petals move incessantly in the very stillest air. (Limit : 200 words.) Entries must be addressed to the Spectator, 99 Go-wer Street, London, W.C.I, in envelopes marked " Competition," and must be received not later than October 22nd. Results will be published in the Spectator of October 31st.