PLAINFIELD 



6184 



PLANCHETTE 



of the ocean bordering the land 

 masses. An uplift of the land will 

 raise accumulated deposits above 

 sea level, and produce coastal 

 plains like those stretching along 

 the N. American coast from 

 Mexico to the Hudson River. In 

 the interior of the same continent 

 are vast prairie plains, composed of 



Plain. Sectional diagrams illus- 

 trating (top) accumulation, and (be- 

 low) formation of plains of erosion 



limestone built up of sediment 

 deposited on the bed of the ancient 

 sea formerly separating the western 

 highlands from the eastern high- 

 lands. Uplift raised these deposits 

 and formed plains. The vast S. 

 American lowlands of the Plate, 

 Amazon, and Orinoco valleys, the 

 steppes of Hungary, Russia, and 

 W. Siberia, have all been formed in 

 this mannvr. Other plains of accu- 

 mulation are chiefly associated with 

 rivers, many of which accumulate 

 sediment in the form of deltas. 



Plains of erosion do not neces- 

 sarily correspond in surface and 

 in geological structure, for they 

 are frequently ancient folded 

 and contorted highland regions 

 which have been reduced to rough 

 plains, or peneplains (q.v.), by 

 erosion. In the Baltic or Hudson 

 Bay areas there are good examples 

 of plains of erosion. Sometimes 

 they are covered by alluvial and 

 other deposits. 



Plainfield. City of New Jersey, 

 U.S.A., in Union co. It is 24 m. 

 W.S.W. of New York, and is served 

 by the Central Railroad of New 

 Jersey. Manufactures include silk 

 and cotton goods, printing presses, 

 lumber products, gloves, etc. 

 Founded in 1847, Plainfield be- 

 came a city in 1867. Pop. 27,700. 



Plainsong, PLAIN-CHANT, OR 

 CANTO FERMO. Ancient system of 

 Gregorian church music. It pro- 

 ceeded by contrapuntal movement 

 in notes of equal length, represent- 

 ing what is now known as the first 

 species of counterpoint. It was 

 written in the eight modes, and on 

 four-lined staves, the notes em- 

 ployed being the long, the breve, 

 and the semibreve. The Canto 

 fermo, generally in the tenor part, 

 was the foundation on which the 

 counterpoint was built, though each 

 part was supposed to be of equal 

 interest. The form is Still used in 

 Roman Catholic and high Anglican 

 churches, chiefly, however, in the 

 solo versicles sung by the officiating 

 celebrant, without contrapuntal 

 additions. See Gregorian Chant. 



Plain Tales from the Hills. 

 Volume of short stories of Indian 

 and Anglo-Indian life by Rudyard 

 Kipling, first published in Allaha 

 bad, in 1887. Most of the tales had 

 previously appeared in the Lahore 

 Civil and Military Gazette. It was 

 the first volume of his stories to be 

 issued in book form. 



Plaintiff (Fr. plaintif, one who 

 laments, complains). InEnglishlaw, 

 like pursuer in Scots law, the term 

 describes the actor, or person who 

 brings another, called the defend- 

 ant, into court, seeking relief 

 against him. The plaintiff in a 

 divorce action is called the pe- 

 titioner. See Trial. 



Plaisterers' Company, THE. 

 London city livery company. Ex- 

 isting as a guild in earlier times, it 

 received its first 

 charter March 10, 

 1502. The hall at 

 23, Addle Street, 

 Alder man bury, 

 E. C., destroyed 

 by fire hi 1666, 

 was rebuilt by 

 Wren. The office 

 Plaisterers' is at 22, Bedford 

 Company arms Row, W.C. 

 Plaistow. Dist. of Greater 

 London. In the co. of Essex, be- 

 tween West Ham, N., and Canning 

 Town, S., it is 4| m. from Fen- 

 church Street station, on the G.E. 

 and Mid. Rlys. At the beginning 

 of the 19th century a small village, 

 and noted for its marshes, and 

 the residences of members of the 

 Society of Friends, it is now a 

 crowded industrial suburb, and 

 has many chemical, engineering, 

 and other works. Here are the 

 West Ham Smallpox and Fever 

 Hospital, 1880, and the Red 

 Triangle Club, a war memorial, 

 opened June, 1921, at a cost of 

 80,000. The East London Ceme- 

 tery, 43 acres, opened 1872, is 

 here, and the dist. is crossed by 

 the northern outfall sewer. The 

 park of Samuel Gurney's mansion 

 is a public recreation ground. 

 Edmund Burke was a resident. 

 Pop. 35,240. There is another 

 Plaistow, W. of Sundridge Park, 

 in Kent, and one in West Sussex. 



Planarians (Tridadida). Sub- 

 order of Turbellarian worms. Of 

 elongated, flat, or cvlindrical form. 



Plancbette, as employed in automatic 

 writing 



covered with vibratile cilia, and 

 with the mouth near the middle of 

 the underside, they are all car- 

 nivorous, feeding upon other worms, 

 molluscs, or insects. There are 

 three families Maricola (marine) ; 

 Paludicola (fresh-water); and Terri- 

 cola (land). The Maricola are 

 broad and leaf -like, often brightly 

 coloured, and as much as 6 ins. long, 

 and may be found gliding over 

 seaweeds or swimming by means of 

 their cilia. A familiar example of 

 the fresh-water forms is a small, 

 black species (Polycelia nigra), 

 abundant in stagnant water, J to 

 in. in length, popularly regarded 

 as a young leech. A remarkable 

 example of the land planarians 

 (Bipalium kewense) was discovered 

 in Kew Gardens some years ago, 

 to which it had been introduced 

 accidentally with tropical plants. 

 It is 6 ins. or more in length, and 

 can extend to 18 ins. Getting a 

 portion of a large worm into its 

 mouth, it will stretch its entire 

 integument over its victim, the 

 operation taking from one to five 

 hours, but the meal may support it 

 for several months. See Platy- 

 helmia ; Worm. 



Planche, JAMES ROBINSON 

 (1796-1880). British dramatist and 

 antiquary. Born in London of 

 Huguenot an- 

 cestry, Feb. 27, 

 1796, he early 

 developed a 

 taste for the 

 stage, and at 

 the age of 22 

 achieved some 

 success with a 

 burlesque, 

 Amoroso, 

 King of Lit- 

 tie Britain, 

 produced at Drury Lane. At 

 Charles Kemble's revival of King 

 John in 1823, Planche designed the 

 costumes. He wrote, translated, 

 or adapted for the stage over 150 

 pieces in all, largely burlesques. 

 In 1854 he was made Rouge 

 Croix, and Somerset Herald in 

 1866. Among his works, apart 

 from dramatic writings, are History 

 of British Costume, 1834 ; The 

 Pursuivant of Arms, 1852 ; The 

 Conqueror and His Companions, 

 1874 ; Cyclopaedia of Costume, 

 1876-79. He died May 30, 1880. 



Planchette. Small wooden tab- 

 let, usually heart-shaped, mounted 

 on three legs. One of these is a 

 pencil and the others terminate in 

 small wheels, the whole being so 

 contrived that, when placed on a 

 .sheet of paper, it moves at the 

 slightest impulse, and the pencil 

 makes marks. It is frequently 

 employed in experiments in un- 

 conscious muscular movement, 



