Ripening seed in sunlight, and testing the fineness of waters
A capillary test with old linen weighs which of two waters is the more earthy
This all-pen page opens by noting that only flowers which see the sun bring their seed to maturity, while those that see merely its reflection do not. The rest describes an experiment 'to know the subtleties of waters': a clean strip of old linen is hung with its ends dipped equally into two vessels of different water, so that each water climbs the cloth and slowly evaporates. As the vessels are refilled and the cloth dries, the residues accumulated let Leonardo judge, by the weights gained, which water is the more 'earthy'.
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Testing the fineness of waters by capillary rise in linen
A clean strip of old linen is hung by its opposite ends dipping to the bottom of two vessels of different water at equal height. Each water climbs the cloth and gradually dries; as the risen water evaporates, more rises in its place, and refilling the vessels keeps the cloth charged with residue. In this way the two waters can be compared.
Only flowers that see the sun ripen their seed
Flowers that see the sun bring their seed to maturity. Those that receive only the reflection of the sun do not.
Judging which water is more earthy by the weight of its residue
By collecting in the linen the residue left when the risen water evaporates, and weighing what each water deposits, Leonardo proposes to tell which of two waters is the more earthy (heavier) than the other.