A new variety of slate has been discovered by Prof. T. Nelson Dale of the United States Geological Survey, in the town of Forks, Somerset County, in central Maine, between the Kennebec and Piscataquis rivers.

The slate crops out in the bed of Holly Brook, where it is exposed for a thickness of 30 feet or more across the cleavage. The nearest railroad is the Somerset Railway extension at Mosquito Narrows, six miles distant.

The slate is bluish and fine of texture, with a cleavage surface which shows less luster than that of the Brownville slate, but is still bright.

50 Years Ago, 1956

Food and fuel tumbled out of mercy planes over snowbound villages of Europe today in the worst winter of the century.

American Air Force “Flying Boxcars” joined the rescue work as Europe’s death toll climbed to 216.

Frigid blasts out of Siberia turned Europe from the far north to the Mediterranean, into one vast refrigerator. Austria and Hungary recorded temperatures down to 31 degrees below zero, the coldest since 1929.

25 Years Ago, 1981

• Mainers use their telephone books more and call information less since a separate charge was tacked on phone bills for those calls, a New England Telephone Co. spokesperson said Tuesday. NET’s Robert Catell spoke against repeal of the directory assistance charge, during a hearing before the Legislature’s Public Utilities Committee. In addition to bringing in $16,000 a month in added revenues, the fee has saved NET about $200,000 a year by allowing the company to hire fewer operators, Catell said.

• Once again Saturday mail deliveries are in the balance in Washington as possible cuts in the federal budget are considered. The service, which is especially important in rural states such as Maine and New Hampshire, survived budget slashing a year ago. There is no telling whether the service will continue under the new administration.