That the hotels at the summer resorts are enjoying the best season in their history is the belief of Hiram Ricker of Poland Spring. He said: "At the present time our hotels at Poland Spring and Rockland are enjoying a better patronage than we have ever received at the same time of the season in the past. Ten days after the Samoset opened at Rockland this year there was a gain of 103 percent over a corresponding period of last year. Our hotel at Poland Spring is doing a wonderful business and more people are coming to the state than ever before. We will have to turn people away during the month of August. Not alone have the hotels owned by us proved unusually successful but the hotels at other resorts all report a good business. A fear has been expressed in many places that not quite so many people are arriving here as usual, but this is misleading."

Seven cases of whooping cough were reported in Lewiston last week, according to the State Health Department. So far this year, 268 cases of whooping cough have been reported in Maine compared with 113 cases in the similar period of 1957.

• The heat apparently drove two boys, ages 10 and 11, onto a raft yesterday, but Auburn police put them back on dry land. Police were notified that the boys were on a raft in the Androscoggin River off the North River Road plant of Maxim Markers & Products Co. It didn't take police long to convince the lads to come to shore and keep away from such a dangerous pastime.

Though few people were seriously injured, more fender-benders and rear-end collisions occurred at two rotaries in Augusta than anywhere else in Maine, according to state transportation records.In total number accidents, the Augusta rotaries head the list of Maine's most likely-to-crash intersections, with the others located in Portland, Waterville and a stretch of road in Bangor.