Stem. - Stout and hairy, two to four feet high. Leaves. - Opposite, widely spreading, lance-shaped, united at the base around the stem. Flower-heads. - Dull white, small, composed entirely of tubular blossoms borne in large clusters.

Bone Set.   E. perfoliatum

Plate XXXII. Bone Set. - E. perfoliatum

To one whose childhood was passed in the country some fifty years ago the name or sight of this plant is fraught with unpleasant memories. The attic or wood-shed was hung with bunches of the dried herb which served as so many grewsome warnings against wet feet, or any over-exposure which might result in cold or malaria. A certain Nemesis, in the shape of a nauseous draught which was poured down the throat under the name of "boneset tea," attended such a catastrophe. The Indians first discovered its virtues, and named the plant ague-weed. Possibly this is one of the few herbs whose efficacy has not been over-rated. Dr. Millspaugh says : "It is prominently adapted to cure a disease peculiar to the South, known as break-bone fever (Dengue), and it is without doubt from this property that the name boneset was derived."