“Useful herbs and grasses”: The Zurich Economic Commission and the Knowledge about the Cultivation of Clover and Meadows

The promotion of forage plants like clover was an essential element of enlightenment-era agricultural reform programs. Societies like the Zurich Economic Commission played an important role in advancing such reforms. The Commission used a broad range of means, aiming at the collection, testing and distribution of useful knowledge such as: price competitions, the distribution of manuals, benefit payments for peasants ready to try clover on theirfields, and experiments with different sorts of grasses in its botanical garden. These measures were supposed to link different cultures of knowledge, i.e. the well-educated commission members’ ideas about agriculture and the peasants’ practical know-how.The promotion of forage plants like clover was an essential element of enlightenment-era agricultural reform programs. Societies like the Zurich Economic Commission played an important role in advancing such reforms. The Commission used a broad range of means, aiming at the collection, testing and distribution of useful knowledge such as: price competitions, the distribution of manuals, benefit payments for peasants ready to try clover on theirfields, and experiments with different sorts of grasses in its botanical garden. These measures were supposed to link different cultures of knowledge, i.e. the well-educated commission members’ ideas about agriculture and the peasants’ practical know-how