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The National Geographic Magazine 



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Washington, D. C, May 30, 1906. 

 Editors National Geographic Magazine: 



Can you tell me the origin and meaning of 

 the word "Labrador?" 



I notice from a map published about 1740 

 that the term was then applied to a body of 

 water in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, 

 now known as the Bras d'Or Lakes, and that 

 the body of land now known as Labrador was 

 then called Terra Labrador. 



The northern entrance to the Bras d'Or 

 Lakes, a long narrow passage forming an arm 

 of the sea, was termed during the French 

 occupation "Le Bras d'Or," the arm of gold. 

 Was this a ' French corruption of the earlier 

 name "Labrador?" The French name still per- 

 sists as "The Bras d'Or," often locally pro- 

 nounced "brass door." 



The captain of a Cape Breton tugboat 

 thought that it was so named because it was 

 the "door" or entrance to the lakes, but why it 

 should be called the "brass" door he could not 

 possibly imagine! H. A. LargeXamb. 



The region which is called Labrador was so 

 named by the Portuguese navigator Gaspar 

 Cortereal, who landed on the coast about 1500. 

 He called the region "Labrador" because it 

 was thought that the natives would make ex- 

 cellent workers or slaves. Cortereal made 

 several voyages to the coast, 1500 and 1501, 

 landing at points between Labrador and the 

 Bay of Fundy, but from his last voyage he did 

 not return. His brother Miguel, who sailed in 

 search of him in 1502, was likewise lost. 



Labrador had been previously discovered by 

 John Cabot in 1497, but as he failed to name 

 the region, the name applied by Cortereal, 

 "Terra de Lavradores" (land of laborers or 

 slaves), clung to it. 



The above is the usual explanation of the 

 origin of the word Labrador. Another tradi- 

 tion is that a Basque whaler, called "Labra- 

 dor," penetrated as far as Labrador Bay (now 

 Bradore Bay) , and that as this bay was later 

 much frequented by Basque fishermen, the 

 name was extended to the whole coast. 



It is generally believed that Bras d'Or is a 

 corruption from the Indian and not of French 

 origin. The similarity of Bras d'Or and Lab- 

 rador is very striking, however, and it may be 

 that both words have the same origin. 



Hydrology of the State of New York. Com- 

 piled by George W. Rafter. Pp. 900. 9x6 

 inches. Illustrated. Published by the New 

 York State Education Department, Albany, 

 1905. $1.50. 



The report on the water supply of New 

 York State gives in detail the statistics and 

 surveys of the Hudson, Genesee, Oswego, and 

 Black rivers as well as of every other water- 

 way in the state worthy of consideration, the 

 volume bringing to the public a realization of 

 the importance of water as an economic min- 

 eral, to which New York State owes much of 

 its vast wealth. Papers on ship-canal projects 

 and their water supply, the future use of water 

 power in the state, with tables of the maximum 

 and minimum flow of streams, are also given 

 and statistical comparisons of catchments and 

 sources of supply. The volume is well illus- 

 trated and contains two detached maps show- 

 ing surface configurations and catchments, with 

 reservations for New York city water supply. 



J. O. L. 



"The New Brazil." By Marie Robinson 

 Wright. Pp. 450. gY 2 x 12^2 inches. With 

 many illustrations. Philadelphia : George 

 Barrie & Son. 



The view of Brazil presented by this volume 

 is that of a land of promise. Wonderful pro- 

 gress has been made during the past ten years, 

 and with further development of her natural 

 resources Brazil has the prospect of a pros- 

 perity for the twentieth century which may 

 equal that achieved by the United States during 

 the last hundred years. 



The Amazon forests supply the world with 

 rubber, and Brazil sends abroad the major 

 portion of the coffee consumed ; Brazilian soil 

 is of such wonderful fertility that it responds 

 to the least cultivation; the mines yield quan- 

 tities of gold, silver, copper, and precious 

 stones ; the transportation facilities are greater 

 than those of any other South American 

 country, and the population is increasing at the 

 rate of seventeen million to the century. 



The closing chapters on national customs- 

 and characteristics tell of the life of the cul- 

 tured families of Brazil and of the primitive 

 Indian of the Amazon. F. M. A. 



"The Discoverers and Explorers of Amer- 

 ica." By Charles Morris. Lippincott. 1906. 

 $1.25. 



An excellent book for youth as well as for 

 adults. Its 344 pages contain forty narratives 

 of discovery and exploration of the continent, 

 islands and waters of America. The whole 

 story of the gradual opening of a new world 

 is told, from the landing of Lief the Lucky, in 

 the summer season of the year 1000, to the 

 navigation of the Northwest passage by- 

 Amundsen, the Norwegian, in 1905. 



F. M. A.. 



