160 THK ENTOMOLOGIST. 



told ill the autobiographical chapters scattered through the volume, 

 that it is a pity roore prominence was not given to the fact in the 

 title, which, however attractive it may be to the dipterologist, does 

 not sufficiently make known the delightful field which it covers, or 

 appeal so strongly to the general reader. Fabre is not an entomo- 

 logist in the limited sense which that word now implies, and so we 

 have him writing as intimately about the life-history and habits of 

 spiders of all sorts in the first of these volumes as he does about 

 those of flies in the second. To this volume there is a preface by 

 M. Maurice Maeterlinck, which does full justice to Fabre's qualities 

 of style and imagination, and contributes not a little to a proper 

 appreciation of him as a philosopher and man of science. 



C. J. G. 



OBITUARY. 

 George Bentley Corbin. 



Readers of the ' Entomologist ' will learn with regret of the 

 death of Mr. George Bentley Corbin, which took place at Ringwood 

 on March 12th last. Born in Ringwood in 1841, he developed an 

 early love of Nature, in the study of which he showed considerable 

 ability. He was a keen and observant entomologist. About 1866 and 

 for several years he conducted ' The Amateur Naturalist ' — a manu- 

 script magazine, and his contributions were mainly on insect-life. 



He wrote the entomological chapter in the second edition of ' The 

 New Forest Handbook,' pubhshed by Phillips, in 1876, and for many 

 years contributed articles upon the subject to ' Science Gossip ' and 

 similar journals. At one time he was a frequent contributor to the 

 ' Entomologist,' and among his later contributions to that journal are 

 — " Deiopea lyulchella in Hampshire" (1893); " Emydia crihrum: 

 A Reminiscence" (1897); "Aberration of Zygce^ia fiUpeiidulcs a^nd 

 Z. trifolii near Ringwood" (1897); "Early hibernation of Vanessa 

 urticce" (1905) ; and " Plusia moneta in the New Forest " (1907). 



By the tragic death of his wife, who was killed in the railway 

 accident at Downton, in 1884, he received a severe shock. The 

 news of her death caused partial paralysis of the left side. This 

 unfortunately put an end to his active interest in entomology, and 

 deprived him of the fullest enjoyment of the life with Nature that 

 had hitherto been his. He was an invalid for the rest of his days, 

 and yet he lived a full life and overcame his incapacity. His spirit 

 was uninjured and he was of a sunny disposition, as his writings 

 show. He had a wide circle of friends and correspondents, including 

 many eminent entomologists. He was a deeply devout man, and to 

 those who enjoyed his friendship his memory will remain fragrant 

 and kindly. 



F. V. B. 



