Conservation and restoration of feathers shaft and the vane. The shaft is composed of the calamus and the rachis. The calamus can also be called the quill and is the hollow portion of the shaft that enters the skin follicle. While the rachis is the solid portion of the shaft where the barbs attach. The vane extends to either side of the rachis and is made up of interconnecting barbs. This is considered the most substantial portion of the feather. Removing debris and organic matter from feathers is a key step in the conservation process. Here are several of the ways that feathers are typically
Acorus calamus Karpos, of Zephyrus (the West Wind) and Chloris (Spring). When Karpos drowned in a swimming race, Kalamos also drowned and was transformed into a reed, whose rustling in the wind was interpreted as a sigh of lamentation. The plant was a favorite of Henry David Thoreau (who called it "sweet flag"), and also of Walt Whitman, who added a section called the "Calamus" poems, to the third edition of "Leaves of Grass" (1860). In the poems the calamus is used as a symbol of love, lust, and affection. Lewis Carroll uses the plant in "Through the Looking-Glass" as a symbol