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A couple of days ago, the radio was playing in background, when my attention suddenly got caught by what the gardener of the castle of Prangins was saying talking about the fruits and vegetable in his garden: "créer une biodiversité orientée", probably badly translated… "Create an oriented biodiversity" . Intriguing. These could have been the words of an ethnographer. No, it was the gardener who was explaining why the different varieties of fruits and vegetables happened to have grown in the garden of the castle over the last centuries. Next to the climate constraints, he pointed out that the medical needs of people at that time were one important factor that shaped the biodiversity of the garden. People at that time had "des humeurs" to be healed (don’t ask me which kinds of illnesses these were exactly). One way to be cured from these "humeurs" was to "drain" the body. Subsequently, fruits and vegetables to "drain" the body were planted. It would be definitely worth it to pay a visit to the "jardinier" and ask for further details on what plants were used at that time for that function.
Keeping in mind that the aim of the gardener is to maintain the castle garden as it was 200 years ago, another point occurred to me. It is much easier too clearly pinpoint how particular social beliefs clearly influenced work practices when you can look back 200 years ago. Just one thought that made me feel more indulgent about ourselves as ethnographers, when we struggle identifying all the links between trends, daily habits, etc. Well, we might sometimes need just a little more time and distance to do so, time to look back.
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