Thin air and dim sunlight; eddies pressed in glue
Why rarer air looks darker, plus a recipe for beautiful whorls and ribbons
Two unrelated notes share this folio. The first argues that where the medium is rarer and finer the sun's rays meet less resistance and shine less, so thinner air appears darker, and the reverse in the reverse case. The second is a craft recipe: with strong glue kept between lukewarm and cold, colored 'vermicelli' pressed through a cloth will form most beautiful eddies, especially where they run as thin, narrow ribbons. A small drawing beside the second note shows a rounded, tied bundle or press above a shallow basin, apparently the tool for the technique.
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Why thinner air appears darker
Where the medium is rarer and finer, the sun's rays meet less resistance, and where there is less resistance the less they take on the impress of that nature. So where the air is thinner, the striking of the solar rays shines less and it is consequently darker there, and the opposite in the opposite case.
Colored 'vermicelli' pressed through cloth into glue
With strong glue held between lukewarm and cold, so that only a little liquid is needed, press through a cloth the 'vermicelli' — firm, set, and of whatever color you please. They will make most beautiful eddies, and especially so where part of them run in the manner of thin, narrow ribbons.
Sketch of a press discharging into a basin
Beside the second note a small drawing shows a rounded, tied bundle or press held above a shallow rounded basin. It appears to illustrate the tool used to squeeze the colored paste through cloth to form the ornamental whorls the text describes.