LABOUCHERE 386 LABRUS enoe on the government in favor of peace with Russia and a mitigation of the terms of the treaty of Versailles with Germany. LABOUCHERE, HENRY (la-bo- shar'), an English journalist and poli- tician; born in London, 1831. He was in the diplomatic service, part of the time at Washington, in the United States, and a member of Parliament. An advanced republican, he used "Truth," the journal established by him in 1876 as a society and political organ, for the promulgation of his ideas. He wrote "Diary of a Besieged Resident in Paris" (1871). Sat in Parliament for Middlesex 1867-1868. Northampton 1880- 1906. Died in Florence, 1912. LABOTJLAYE, EDOXJARD RENE LEEEBVRE DE (la-bo-la'), a French jurist and historian; born in Paris, Jan. 18, 1811. He was appointed Professor of Comparative Jurisprudence in the College de France in 1849, deputy in 1871; life senator in 1875. His greatest work outside of the field of jurisprudence is a "Political History of the United States, 1620-1789" (3 vols. 1855-1866). He wrote also "The United States and France" (1862) and the humorous sa- tiric novel "Paris in America" (1863). His novel of "Prince Caniche" (1868) reached a 20th edition. But by far his best-known works of fiction are the three series of "Blue Stories" — tales of fairies, elves, enchanters, etc. He also wrote "Contemporary Studies of Germany and the Slavic States" (1856); "Religious Liberty" (1858). He died in Paris, May 25, 1883. LABRADOR, the N. E. peninsula of the North American continent, lying be- tween Hudson Bay and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, extending from lat. 49° to 63° N., and from Ion. 55° to about 79* W. ; greatest length from the Strait of Belle Isle to its N. cape, Wolsten- holme, 1,100 miles; area, 120,000 square miles; pop. about 4,100, collected chiefly at the Moravian missionary stations — Nain (1770), Okkak, Hebron, Hopedale, etc. The Atlantic coast is stern and pre- cipitous (1,000 to 4,000 feet high), en- tirely destitute of vegetation, deeply in- dented with narrow fjords, and fringed with chains of rocky islands. The inner parts have been but very imperfectly ex- plored; the greater part consists of a plateau, mostly covered with fine forest trees, firs, birches, etc. Numerous lakes, including Mistassini, also exist inland, and, connecting with the rivers, afford m summer continuous waterways for great distances. The only inhabitants of this interior plateau are Cree Indians, nomads. There are numerous rivers. The Grand Falls on Grand river are be- lieved to be among the largest in the world. These rivers abound in fish, es- pecially salmon and white fish. The principal fur-bearing animals are bears, wolves, foxes, martens, otters, beavers, lynxes, etc., which are trapped by the inhabitants in winter. Of the mineral resources little is knovioi; but iron and Labradorite iq.v.) are certainly abun- dant. The climate on the coast is very rigorous, owing mainly to the ice-laden Arctic current which washes the shores. The summer lasts three months. The winter is dry, bracing, and frosty. Since 1809 the coast region has been an- nexed for administrative purposes to Newfoundland. The remaining parts of the peninsula are designated the North- east Territory. By far the most im- portant wealth of Labrador is its fish — cod, salmon, herring, and trout. As many as 30,000 fishermen from New- foundland, Canada, and the United States visit its fishing grounds in the season. In 1500 a Portuguese navigator, Cortereal, seems to have visited Labra- dor, and to have given it its name, which means "laborers' land." LABRADORITE (named from the Ic- cality whence first obtained), in miner- alogy, a member of the felspar gi'oup, in which the protoxide bases are lime and soda, the sesquioxide base being alumina. Colors, gray, brown, greenish; sometimes colorless. The cleavable mas- sive varieties sometimes exhibit, in the direction of the second cleavage, a lively play of color, blue and green predomi- nating, but fire-red and yellow also occur. This phenomenon has not yet received a satisfactory explanation. The colored varieties are sometimes used in jewelry. Called also Labrador felspar. LABRUS (la'-), plural, LABRID^ (lab'ri-de), a genus and family of acan- thopterygious fishes, the species of which are very numerous in tropical seas. The Lahridse family (wrasses, or rock fish, as they are also called) are chiefly re- markable for their thick fleshy lips, their large and strong conical teeth, their ob- long scaly body, and their brilliant col- ors. They are further generically dis- tinguished by a single dorsal fin, extend- ing nearly the whole length of the back, part of the rays spinous, and behind the point of each spinous ray a short mem- branous filament. To this family be- longs the black fish, or tautog, Lahm.s Americanus, Q to 18 inches long, com- mon on the coast of New England, and highly prized as food.
