Feather wrapping

The feather wrapping of Etowah Mound G (EMC) 1145 contained Al, Si, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Fe, and Cu. The inside spot-outside spot elemental comparison indicated that the outer edge of each feather barbule contained more Fe and P than the inside. The backscattered electron image corroborated this point. The outer rim of the feathers appeared brighter because of the greater concentration of iron, a fact indicating that iron had penetrated only into the surface of the feathers. Al, Si, S, Cl, K, Ca, and Cu were distributed throughout the material. 

Figure 5. Fabric with feather-wrapped yam, No. 1145, Burial 103, Mound C, Etowah, 10 X 15 cm.

The Etowah fabric bundle (No. 840) contains fine yarns made of bundles of vegetable fibers typical of bast fibers. The core yams of Etowah Mound C (EMC) No. 1145 also are bast, and they are wrapped with feathers. Figure 10 is an electron micrograph of the nodes on the barbules of these feathers. The copper plate EMC No. 1156 contains a twisted yarn of undetermined fiber composition the fibers are smooth, untwisted, and long. Perhaps they are hair, but no scale structure was apparent on their surfaces. In the same area of the plate, some loose fibrous material adjacent to the yam proved to be feather. In a second area of the plate, some fibrous material of undetermined type similar in appearance to that in the first area is present. 

C. In each a core of yarns appears to be wrapped with featherlike structures, which are then bound to the core by a fine yam with no twist (Figure 12). System A yams measure 4.20 mm the featherlike structures exhibit the characteristic shapes of downy barbules found on feathers, as indicated earlier. Scholtz (12) considers the complex yarns to be re-plied yams because the core consists of plied yams, and a wrapping yarn encircles the core unit. Modem textile specialists would classify yams... 

Each cell of an animal, including the structural cells of down and feathers, carries megabytes of genetic information. This is stored in an orderly manner in strands of DNA, nature s read only memory. They most often are found paired with a parmer strand, wrapped around each other in the familiar double helix. Most of this information remains stored and protected when it is not actively used either to propagate information or for repairs should it become corrupted (see Fig. 2.5 DNA Chain). 

To locate your archery arrows easily after shooting them, wrap bands of tinfoil on the shafts Just in front of the feathers, and shellac the bands to prevent tearing. The tinfoil will glisten in the s>uxi so that an arrow can be seen at a distance of many yards. This method is especially effective in cases where the arrows hai to fall in tall grass, weed etc. 

Brush must often be cleared in advance of the search. The base of trees must be searched completely because the roots of trees often are wrapped around UXO. When a shell fails to detonate, it nevertheless often leaves a hole. Tree seeds (acorns, maple feathers, and so on) tend to fall into these holes and start growing, and eventually the roots engulf the UXO item. 

It is not advisable to wrap fiberglass around outside comers instead the material should be cut to fit. An outside comer bead of wood or metal is necessary to prevent delamination of the material due to abrasion. When metal is used, it must be feathered out with a joint compound. 

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