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]
