Device for weighing a fall of water
A framed wheel with a projecting arm, and an aphorism on iron filed thin
A faint red-chalk sketch shows a rectangular frame housing a wheel or drum with a lever-like arm projecting to the right, drawn as a contrivance to measure water. The e-Leo caption calls it a device for weighing a fall of water, and the mirror-script note repeats this aim before adding an aphorism: that heavy iron filed to great thinness can be carried off by a small wind. The leaf thus pairs a measuring machine with a reflective saying.
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Contrivance to weigh falling water
The framed wheel and projecting arm form an apparatus for gauging a fall of water. The caption and note name its purpose as weighing a cascade or fall of water.
Measuring the force of a water-fall
The device is directed at a falling stream of water, treating its descent as a force to be quantified. The note opens by calling for the weighing of a fall of water.
Aphorism on iron filed thin
The note closes with a saying: heavy iron, reduced to such fineness by the file, is then carried off by a little wind. The maxim turns a workshop observation into a reflection on weight and force.