158 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



taught his father's business of a cabinet-maker and upholsterer. He 

 then continued his education at evening classes with considerable 

 success. But he was a true lover of Nature, and his great natural 

 history lore was acquired first-hand in the fields and woods by his 

 gifts of intelligent observation.- In this he found the pleasure and 

 purpose of his life. 



In 1862 he contributed his first paper to the ' Zoologist,' " The 

 Macro-Lepidoptera of Eingwood, in Hampshire," with a supple- 

 mentary note by the Eev. Joseph Greene, M.A., and since that time 

 he had been a more or less continuous recorder in our pages. We 

 may recall his paper " On the Occurrence of the Needle-tailed Swift 

 for the second time in England," which was published in 1880, and 

 we are glad to learn from his relatives that this specimen "will 

 eventually be added to the National Collection at South Kensington." 



Mr. Corbin had a considerable number of friends and correspon- 

 dents among eminent naturalists, including Charles Darwin and 

 Charles Kingsley. With the former the subject was " Insectivorous 

 Plants," with the latter the interest was focussed in the proof of the 

 presence of the Smooth Snake in the New Forest. In his declining 

 years he pursued the business of a taxidermist, and we are informed 

 that for over thirty years he was a member of his church choir. 



NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 



The Life and Habits of the Badger. By J. Fairfax Blakeborough 

 and Sir A. E. Pease, Bart. 'The Foxhound' Offices, 

 Piccadilly. 



Some years ago Sir A. E. Pease published a monograph on 

 the Badger, after its appearing as articles in the 'Yorkshire Post.' 

 Even since that date much more material has been collected and 

 some statements revised, while Mr. Blakeborough, in conjunc- 

 tion with the previous writer, has now produced a thoroughly 

 up-to-date and attractive volume on one of the most interesting 

 members of our mammalian fauna. Few Englishmen, indeed, 

 have seen a Badger in his native haunts, while some of us, in 



