WHITE AND GREENISH WILD FLOWERS 



headache and cough, fever and ague, Boneset tea and 

 goose grease! My, oh my! And yet Boneset tea 

 certainly has a knack of rallying drooping spirits, 

 and particularly so while it is being administered, 

 for it is a horrible dose to take. However, it has long 

 been regarded as a household remedy of no mean dis- 

 tinction. The Indians are said to have first used 

 this plant and called it Ague- weed. Boneset taffy 

 was often substituted for the tea and was easier to take. 

 The latter was most effective in breaking up attacks 

 of influenza, muscular rheumatism, or a general cold, 

 and as a tonic in dyspepsia, jaundice, and general 

 debility, also in producing perspiration. Yes, indeed, 

 Boneset saved many a doctor's bill, and there is still 

 many a bagful hung from the rafters in the garrets of 

 old country homes. The large, round, hairy stalk 

 grows from two to five feet in height, and branches at 

 the top. The long, tapering, and slender-pointed 

 leaves are set upon and around the stalk in opposite 

 and completely united pairs. They appear like one 

 long, continuous leaf with the stalk passing through 

 its centre. They are finely notched with round-pointed 

 teeth, and their upper surface is rough and wrinkled, 

 with numerous veinings, while the under side is hairy. 

 They alternate at regular distant intervals on the stalk. 

 The numerous tiny, tubular florets are greenish white 

 in colour, and from ten to sixteen are gathered in 

 small, dense tufts, which terminate the branches in 

 rather crowded, flat-topped clusters. The protrud- 

 ing stamens give the flowers a fluffy appearance. The 



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