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CHAPTER IX. 

 STRAW PLAT. 



THE culm or stalk of different species of grass is now 

 so commonly applied in this country as a material for 

 making hats and bonnets, that its introduction might 

 naturally be supposed to be of ancient date. It is, 

 however, scarcely half a century since the simple art 

 of platting straws together was first practised to any 

 considerable extent by our rustic population. 



Immediately previous to the introduction of straw 

 hats, those made of chip were usually worn by our 

 fair countrywomen ; and the first rude attempts of 

 our own manufactories were then rejected by the 

 higher classes for the more finished productions of 

 Italy. The coarse British plat was, however, adopted 

 by the more humble in the middle ranks of society, 

 and the home manufacture gradually increased in 

 importance. 



This originated in Scotland, but a work in which 

 even children could be profitably employed, and which 

 they could soon learn to perform with considerable 

 skill and dexterity, was quickly introduced into some 

 of our English counties, and the wives and children 

 of the peasantry of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, 

 and especially Bedfordshire, gradually became en- 

 gaged in an occupation which required so little in- 

 struction. Dunstable plat soon became noticed as 

 the best produced in England ; it still retains its 

 place, and continues to give its name to English straw 

 hats of superior quality. 



