Cultural Crossrads

Cultural crossrads Objekttyp: Group Zeitschrift: The Swiss observer : the journal of the Federation of Swiss Societies in the UK Band (Jahr): - (1953) Heft 1203 PDF erstellt am: 01.10.2021 Nutzungsbedingungen Die ETH-Bibliothek ist Anbieterin der digitalisierten Zeitschriften. Sie besitzt keine Urheberrechte an den Inhalten der Zeitschriften. Die Rechte liegen in der Regel bei den Herausgebern. Die auf der Plattform e-periodica veröffentlichten Dokumente stehen für nicht-kommerzielle Zwecke in Lehre und Forschung sowie für die private Nutzung frei zur Verfügung. Einzelne Dateien oder Ausdrucke aus diesem Angebot können zusammen mit diesen Nutzungsbedingungen und den korrekten Herkunftsbezeichnungen weitergegeben werden. Das Veröffentlichen von Bildern in Print- und Online-Publikationen ist nur mit vorheriger Genehmigung der Rechteinhaber erlaubt. Die systematische Speicherung von Teilen des elektronischen Angebots auf anderen Servern bedarf ebenfalls des schriftlichen Einverständnisses der Rechteinhaber. Haftungsausschluss Alle Angaben erfolgen ohne Gewähr für Vollständigkeit oder Richtigkeit. Es wird keine Haftung übernommen für Schäden durch die Verwendung von Informationen aus diesem Online-Angebot oder durch das Fehlen von Informationen. Dies gilt auch für Inhalte Dritter, die über dieses Angebot zugänglich sind. Ein Dienst der ETH-Bibliothek ETH Zürich, Rämistrasse 101, 8092 Zürich, Schweiz, www.library.ethz.ch http://www.e-periodica.ch 6860 THE SWISS OBSERVEE April 24th, 1953- CULTURAL CROSSROADS. of science and to the exploration of the globe, which is still far from being complete. by Oliviek Rbvbkdin. The work in connection with all the material brought back by M. Zimmermann — there are several must lie. about a that I spoke to It year ago you cases dried and also number on the of the Swiss containing plants a large subject expedition to Mount of obtained from the Everest. remarkable well living plants sub-tropical valleys Its performances are which lie at the foot of the high mountain summits known, and the world has about a press spoken it and which are to be cultivated in the hot-houses deal. As the Genevese going great you are aware, guide, and the rockeries of the Botanical Garden the work, Raymond Lambert, almost succeeded in reaching the — I repeat, will spread over a number of will highest summit in the world. And, even he did not years. It if be in a. to examine each sample quite get to the he is, at the moment, the necessary, laboratory, top, present with the aid of tweezers, glasses and man who has climbed to the highest magnifying spot: "the microscopes, in order to determine the species, and highest man in the world " to use the language of our describe those that are still unknown. this work times, which are so about records. All crazy is being done in the city of the Candolles, the Boissiers, What, however, is not generally known abroad, the Müllers and the Briquets, where for a hundred is the fact that the group of Swiss mountain climbers and fifty years botany has occupied an honoured place, which attempted to reach the summit of Mount to such an extent that, after those of the Kew Gardens, Everest, was accompanied by a scientific expedition. near London, the Genevese herbariums are the finest This expedition, which was financed by the city and in the world. Canton of Geneva, as well as by private initiative, was And, now a word or two about enthuography. The composed of a doctor of medicine, a botanist, a collections brought back from the Nepal, which and among geologist an ethnologist. The mission of the first are to be found some very fine specimens, are to be two was to observe the behaviour of the human exhibited and then form the subject of publications. organism in the high altitude and to study vegetable They will certainly enrich the collections in the life. The geologist's task was to explore a high valley Ethnographical Museum, in Geneva. Among the and back to bring samples. As for the ethnologist, most striking objects, we would draw attention to a this lady remained, of course in the inhabited zones sculptured reel for winding thread, probably dating of Nepal. There, she studied the customs of the back to the 1.0th century, a large vessel made of baked population and collected a great number of inter- earth, used for religious ceremonies and adorned with esting objects, destined for the Ethnographical the head of the god Bairab, a splendid lamp made of Museum, in Geneva. cast brass and richly chased, a work in which the The observations made by the medical man of the Nepalese have excelled for centuries past. Donations party. Dr. Wyss-Dunant, are valuable in more ways in cash, on the part of some patrons of art, as well as than one. They will, more especially, facilitate the the funds placed at the disposal of the expedition by preparation of future expeditions. They have already the public authorities, made such purchases possible, been of use to the Englishmen who are going to as well as many others. attempt the conquest of Mount Everest. From all this you will realise that the work of The geologist, M. Augustin Lombard, has only the scientists who accompanied the Swiss alpinists to drawn up a preliminary report. He is now busily at the Himalayas, was far from negligible. In fact, it work on the samples which he has brought back with represents a very interesting and very important him, and the notes which he has made in regard to contribution to exploration and the knowledge of the the soil. This is a work which will take a long time, world. A contribution, — among many others. but the results, judging from the preliminary report, Switzerland, a tiny, little country — don't forget that promise to be very interesting. she possesses less than five million inhabitants — side And, now let us come to the M. maintains her rank ; by side with the other botanist, Albert she Zimmerman. He was able to his countries, participates in that vast effort made pursue investigations civilised the aim up to an altitude of 7,000 metres. One of his most by humanity, of which is to obtain a. better Man and the interesting discoveries is in respect of two plianero- knowledge of of riches of our gams, that is to say, flowering plants, the one being planet. a cluster of androsace and the other a small saxifrage, which he gathered at a height of 6.350 metres. There is something very moving about the struggle for Kettners Restaurant has no music and is not existence waged by these last tufts of plants, clinging to the highest rocks. Violent winds, snow and ice luxurious but the Food and Wine are assail them or cover them for the greater part of the year. They avail themselves of a few days, or, at the superb. most, of a few weeks of respite in order to form a flower, and then a seed, and thus perpetuate their species on these desolate heights. Roast Surrey The flora of the the Himalayas has already formed Capon, the object of a number of studies. Nevertheless, there Roast Aylesbury still exists only a very fragmentary knowledge regard- Duckling ing this flora. Thanks to the Genevese expedition, this served every day knowledge can be supplemented. In this way, a Swiss 8 scientist and a Swiss scientific institution have BonqD®' Q-^oef * P will .unci"""" contributed, iu this particular branch, to the progress.

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