Friedrich Gottlieb Stebler

Friedrich Gottlieb Stebler

Friedrich Gottlieb Stebler (born August 11, 1852 in Safnern , Switzerland ; † April 7, 1935 in Lahr , Baden-Württemberg ) was a Swiss forage scientist and ethnographer .

Life path

Stebler, son of a farmer, attended the Rütti agricultural school near Bern for two years and studied agriculture at the University of Halle (Saale) since 1872 . In 1874 he moved to the University of Leipzig , where in 1876 he was awarded a doctorate degree with a dissertation on leaf growth. phil. received his doctorate .

As early as 1875, Stebler founded a private seed control station in Mattenhof near Bern , which from 1876 was housed in the premises of the Agriculture Department of the ETH Zurich . In 1878 this station became the first federal agricultural research institute to become the property of the federal government under the name “Swiss Seed Control Station”. Stebler headed this station until 1917.

Research services

Stebler's most important publication in the field of seed control is the book “ Seed Falsification and Seed Protection ” published in 1878 . In the following years he turned more and more to forage production. Since 1881, in close cooperation with Carl Schroeter, he has carried out extensive cultivation trials with fodder plants at various locations in Switzerland, including the Fürstenalp in Graubünden . The evaluation of the results of these tests as well as detailed studies of the alpine meadow flora yielded new insights into the ecophysiology and the cultivation value of the most important forage crops.

Stebler published numerous scientific articles and several books. Together with Carl Schroeter and Albert Volkart, he developed a four-volume Swiss meadow plants work entitled “ The best forage plants ” , which is still considered a masterpiece in the field of forage cultivation. His book “ Der rationelle Futterbau ” developed into Stebler's publication with the highest circulation . The first edition he had published himself in 1881, but with the support of the Berlin publisher Paul Parey, a total of ten editions were published by 1926.

Fifteen noteworthy articles were published in the “Agricultural Yearbook of Switzerland” (1887–1905) on the research work on Swiss meadows and pastures, some of which was carried out together with Carl Schroeter. Stebler published numerous articles in the "Swiss Agricultural Newspaper" (today: "the green one"), which he edited in 1882 and then again from 1889 to 1916.

Stebler acquired the Venia legendi at the agricultural department of the ETH Zurich in 1876 . Until 1901 he held lectures there on forage production and alpine agriculture. In the later years of his life he became increasingly concerned with folklore studies . Among other things, he researched the living conditions and habits of the population in the Valais mountains and published five monographs on them.

Major works

• Seed counterfeiting and protection. The most important adulterations and contamination of agricultural seeds, their detection and prevention. Practical guide for farmers and seed dealers . Bern 1878.
• The rational forage production . First editions under the title The grass seed mixes to achieve the largest forage yield of the best quality. From the scientific and practical point of view . Self-published by the author, Bern 1881; 2nd ed. 1883; 3rd edition. 1895. - Follow-up editions under the title Der rationelle Futterbau. Practical instructions for farmers and for teaching at agricultural educational establishments , Verlag Paul Parey Berlin 4th edition 1900; 5th edition 1903; 6th edition 1909; 7th edition 1912; 8th edition 1917; 9th edition 1920; 10th edition 1928 = Thaer-Bibliothek vol. 10.
• The rational cultivation of grain in Swiss agriculture . Publishing house KJ Wyss Bern 1883.
• The best forage plants . Four-part Swiss meadow plants, partly in collaboration with Carl Schroeter and Albert Volkart. Publishing house KJ Wyss, Bern.

  Part 1: 1883; 2nd edition 1892; 3rd edition 1902; 4th edition 1913.

  Part 2: 1884; 2nd edition 1895; 3rd edition 1908.

  Part 3: Subtitle Die Alpen-forage plants . 1889.

  Tl. 4: Subtitle The best litter plants . 1898.

• About the layout and treatment of the litter fields and the value of the various litter materials . Zurich 1888; 2nd ed. 1892.
• Alpine and pasture farming. A manual for ranchers and alpine farmers . Paul Parey Berlin 1903.
• Folklore studies from the Swiss Alps. Five monographs, published as supplements to the "Yearbook of the Swiss Alpine Club":

1. House sign from Upper Valais. The old “turn table” of the municipality of Münster , 1897.

2. The Tesslen in Upper Valais or wooden name directories , 1897.

3. Ob den Heidereben , 1901.

4. The Goms and the Goms , 1903.

5. Am Lötschberg, Land und Volk von Lötschen , 1907.

6. Sunny heaps on the Lötschberg , 1913.

7. The Vispertal Sun Mountains , 1921.

literature

• Peter Müller-Grieshaber: Stebler, Friedrich Gottlieb. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• A. Volkart and E. Neuweiler: Dr. FG Stebler on August 11, 1922 . In: Quarterly publication of the Natural Research Society in Zurich, vol. 67, 1922, pp. 199–208 (with picture and list of publications).
• A. Volkert: Dr. Friedrich Gottlieb Stebler . In: Swiss Agricultural Monthly Issues Vol. 13, 1935, pp. 127–129 (with picture).
• C. Schroeter: FG Stebler † . In the Alps. Monthly magazine of the Swiss Alpine Club, vol. 11, 1935, no. 5, supplement No. 5, pp. 89–92 (with picture).

Web links

• Literature by and about Friedrich Gottlieb Stebler in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

1. ^ House sign from Upper Valais. The old “turn table” of the municipality of Münster
2. ↑ The Tesslen in the Upper Valais or wooden Directories
3. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.