Feather These barbules have minute hooks called barbicels for cross-attachment. Down feathers are fluffy because they lack barbicels, so the barbules float free of each other, allowing the down to trap air and provide excellent thermal insulation. At the base of the feather, the rachis expands to form the hollow tubular "calamus" (or quill) which inserts into a follicle in the skin. The basal part of the calamus is without vanes. This part is embedded within the skin follicle and has an opening at the base (proximal umbilicus) and a small opening on the side (distal umbilicus). Hatchling birds of some
Calamus-Wheatland High School Calamus-Wheatland High School Calamus Wheatland High School is a four-year comprehensive high school located in Wheatland, Iowa. The school is part of the Calamus-Wheatland Community School District, and has an enrollment of approximately 120 students in grades nine through 12. Located approximately one mile north of U.S. Highway 30 in Wheatland, Calamus-Wheatland High School draws students from several communities in western and southwestern Clinton County, including Calamus, Wheatland and Toronto; the district also includes a small portion of northwestern Scott County, drawing students from Big Rock and rural areas north and west of Dixon. Calamus-Wheatland came into being in 1986,