P L A 
P L A 
617 
exchange for Leghorn bonnets, is, while we have the raw 
material here for next to nothing, juft fo much thrown 
away. The Italians, it may be faid, take fome of our 
manufactures in exchange; and let us fuppofe, for the 
purpofe of illuftration, that they take cloth from York¬ 
shire. Stop the exchange between Leghorn and York- 
fhire, and does Yorkfhire lofe part of its cuftora ? No: 
for, though thofe who make the bonnets out of Englifh 
grafs may prevent the Leghorners from buying York¬ 
shire cloth, they, with the money which they now get, 
inftead of its being got by the Leghorners, will buy the 
Yorkfhire cloth themfelves ; and they will wear this cloth 
too, inftead of its being worn by the people of Italy : 
aye and many, now in rags, will be well clad, if the laud¬ 
able objedl of this Society be effected. Befidesthis, how¬ 
ever, why fhould we not export the articles of this manu¬ 
facture ? To America we certainly fhould ; and I fhould 
not be at all furprifed if we were to export them to Leg¬ 
horn itfelf. 
17. Notwithftanding all this, however, if the manu¬ 
facture were of a defcription to require, in order to give 
it fuccefs, the collecting of the manufacturers together 
in great numbers, I fhould, however great the wealth 
that it might promife, never have done any thing to pro¬ 
mote its eftablifliment. The contrary is happily the cafe ; 
here all is not only performed by hand, but by hand 
Singly, without any combination of hands. Here there 
is no power of machinery or chemiftry wanted. All is 
performed out in the open fields, or fitting in the 
cottage. There wants no coal-mines and no rivers to 
aflift, no water-powers nor powers of fire. No part of the 
kingdom is unfit for the bufinefs. Every where there 
are grafs, water, fun, and women and children’s fingers ; 
and thefe are all that are wanted. But, the great thing 
of all is this : that to obtain the materials for the making 
of this article of drefs, at once fo gay, fo ufeful, and, in 
fome cafes, fo expenfive, there requires not a penny of 
capital. Many of the labourers now make their own 
ftraw-hats to wear in Summer; poor rotten things, made 
out of the ftraw of ripened grain. With what Satisfac¬ 
tion will they learn that ftraw, twenty times as durable, 
to fay nothing of the beauty, is to be got from every 
hedge ! In fhort, when the people are well and clearly 
informed of the facts which I have through you, Sir, had 
the honour to lay before the Society, it is next to im- 
poffible that the manufactory fhould not become general 
throughout the country. In every labourer’s houfe a pot 
of water can be boiled. What labourer’s wife cannot, 
in the fummer months, find time to cut and bleach grafs 
enough to give her and her children work for a part of 
the winter? There is no neceflity for all to be platters. 
Some may cut and bleach only. Others may prepare 
the ftraw, as mentioned in paragraph n of this letter. 
And, doubtlefs, as the farmers in Hertfordfhire now fell 
their ftraw to the platters, grafs-collectors and bleachers 
and preparers would do the fame. So that there is 
Scarcely any country labourer’s family that might not 
derive fome advantage from this difcovery ; and, while I 
am convinced that this consideration has been by no means 
overlooked by the Society, it has been, I allure you, the 
great consideration of all with me. 
PLAT, v. a. To weave; to make by texture.— 
When they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon 
his head. Matth. xxvii. 29.—I have Seen nefts of an 
Indian bird curioufly interwoven and platted together. 
Ray on the Creation. 
PLAT'-BAND, f. A flat fquare moulding; a border 
of flowers in a garden. 
PLAT'-LEVELLED, adj. Brought down to a mo¬ 
derate level'; not high-flown.—A fhrill tragedy, or a 
fmooth and plat-levelled poefye. Dr ant's Tranf. of Horace, 
1567. 
PLAT'-VEIN, f. in farriery, the vein on the infide 
of a horfe’s thigh. 
PLA'TA, or Plate, f. A Spanifh term, fignifying 
Vol.XX. No. 1395. 
Silver; as vellon, which they pronounce vellion, Signifies 
copper. Thefe two terms are not only ufed to exprefs 
the Species of thofe metals ftruck in Spain, but alfo to 
diftinguifh between their Several moneys of account.— 
Plata is reduced to vellon by faying, As 17 is to 32, fo is 
the given plata to the vellon fought; and vice versa. 
Chambers. 
PLA'TA (La), a river of South-America, which 
feems to be formed by the union of the rivers Parana 
and Paraguay, in lat. 27. 4.5. S. It was firft difcovered 
by Juan Dias de Salis, in the year 1515, who failed up it 
as far as an ifland which lies in 34. 40. S. The mouth 
near fixty leagues in breadth, is fuppofed to have been 
called Rio de la Plata, from the great quantity of lilver 
found by thofe who firft vifited the countries lying on 
its banks; for it was originally called Rio de Salis, from 
its firft difcoverer; who, feeing fome Indian huts as he 
failed up the river, imprudently went on-fliore with ten 
men, who were all murdered by the Savages. The Plata 
receives considerable Itreams in its courfe, as the Pilco- 
mayo, the Uruguay, &c. fo that it Sometimes fvvells to 
fuch a prodigious degree, that the lands on each fide for 
feveral leagues are overflowed, and, like thofe of Egypt, 
rendered fertile by the inundation. The current of this 
river, where it falls into the Sea, is fo rapid, that the 
water is frelh Some leagues diftant from its mouth : the 
water is alfo very clear, fweet, and wholefome. The 
river abounds with furprifing plenty and variety of fi(h, 
and the banks are frequented by numbers of beautiful 
birds. The diftance from the conflux of the Paraguay 
and Parana to the mouth of the river is near 600 miles, 
and all the way interfperfed with delightful iflands, and 
navigable by the largeft fhips. See Parana, vol. xviii. 
PLA'TA (La), a province of South-America, in the 
government of Buenos Ayres. It is divided into four¬ 
teen jurisdictions. It is an extenfive country, Situated on 
the banks of the Rio de la Plata, extending itfelf on each 
fide of that famous ftream about 200 leagues in length 
from north to fouth, and about 100 in breadth from eaft 
to weft. The boundaries, however, muft not be consi¬ 
dered as absolutely fixed, becaufe large parts of it are 
uninhabited, and fome of them hardly knowm. The 
climate is very moderate and healthy, being chiefly in 
the Southern temperate zone. The winter months are 
thofe of May, June, and July, when the nights areindeed 
very cold, but the days moderately warm; the froft is 
neither violent nor lading, and the Snows very incon¬ 
siderable ; but the country is greatly infefted by Serpents, 
efpecially near the banks of the river Plata. 
PLA'TA (La), formerly a city of Peru, and the fee of 
ap archbifhop ; now' the capital of the above-defcribed 
province of La Plata. It was built by captain Pedro 
Anzures in the year 1539, by order of Gonzalo Pizarro, 
on the fcite of Chuquilaca, and called Plata in allufion 
to the filver-mines of the mountain of Porco in its neigh¬ 
bourhood, from which the incas obtained great quantities 
of Silver. Its ancient name long prevailed, and, as 
Ulloa fays, is now commonly ufed. This city Hands on 
a Small plain environed by eminences, which defend it 
from the winds. In fummer the temperature of the air 
is very mild, nor is there any great difference throughout 
the year; but in winter, which here begins in September 
and continues till March, tempefts of thunder and 
lightning are very common, and rain is of long con¬ 
tinuance. The houfes are covered with tile, having one 
ftory befides the ground floor : they are roomy and con¬ 
venient, and have delightful gardens planted with the 
fruits of Europe. Water is fcarce. The inhabitants 
confift of Indians and Spaniards, and are faid to amount 
to 14,000. The cathedral is large, of good architecture, 
and finely adorned with paintings and gildings. The 
parifh is ferved by two priefts, one for the Spaniards, 
and one for the Indians. Another parifh, fituated at one 
end of the city, is appropriated to the Indians liying 
within its precindf, and amounting to about 3000. The 
7 S convents 
