Labrador (6), the great peninsula in the E. of Canada, washed by Hudson's Bay, the Greenland Sea, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence; is a high tableland, with many lakes and rivers, and forests of birch and fir. The climate is much too severe for agriculture. Summer is very short, and plagued with mosquitoes. The rivers abound in salmon; the fox, marten, otter, and other animals are trapped for their fur; iron and labradorite are plentiful. The population is largely Eskimo, christianised by the Moravians. The name Labrador specially belongs to the region along the eastern coast, between Capes St. Louis and Chudleigh, presenting a barren front to the sea, precipitous, much indented, and fringed with rocky islands. This region is governed by Newfoundland; its chief industry is cod and herring fishing.

Lab`ra*dor" (?), n. A region of British America on the Atlantic coast, north of Newfoundland.

Labrador duck(Zoöl.), a sea duck (Camtolaimus Labradorius) allied to the eider ducks. It was formerly common on the coast of New England, but is now supposed to be extinct, no specimens having been reported since 1878. -- Labrador feldspar. See Labradorite. -- Labrador tea(Bot.), a name of two low, evergreen shrubs of the genus Ledum (L. palustre and L. latifolium), found in Northern Europe and America. They are used as tea in British America, and in Scandinavia as a substitute for hops.