Following classes at the agricultural school in Rütti, he studied agriculture at the Universities of Halle and Leipzig. In 1875, he founded a private Samen-Kontrollstation (seed control station) in Mattenhof bei Bern.
In 1876 he gained his venia legendi at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH Zurich), where he taught classes in agricultural-related subjects until 1901. As an agriculturalist he published works on forage crops, alpine agriculture and pastoralism. From 1888 to 1899 he issued the exsiccata series Schweizerische Gräser-Sammlung, first with Carl Joseph Schröter and later with Albert Volkert.[1]
From 1889 to 1916 he was editor of the Schweizerischen Landwirtschaftlichen Zeitung.[2]
As his career progressed, he developed an interest in ethnography, making frequent visits to Valais in order to study the lives and customs of its population.[3]
Selected writings
Die bestern Futterpflanzen : Abbildungen und Beschreibungen derselben nebst ausführlicher Angaben betreffend deren Kultur, ökonom. Werth, Samen-Gewinnung, -Verunreinigungen, -Verfälschung, 1883 (with Carl Joseph Schröter); translated into English in 1889 - The best forage plants, etc.[4]
Les Mélanges de graines fourragères pour obtenir les plus forts rendements de bonne qualité : étude scientifique et pratique, 1888 (Translated from the German by C. Denaiffe) - Forage seed blends to obtain higher yields, etc.[5][6]