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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