Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) is a hardy, rather long-lived perennial plant commonly found growing in low grounds throughout the eastern half of the United States. The dried leaves and flowering tops form the official drug.

Divisions of clumps of wild plants collected early in the fall will serve for propagation. These may be set about a foot apart in rows in well-prepared soil. During the first winter the newly set divisions should be protected with a light mulch of straw or manure. Plants may also be grown from seeds, which should be collected as soon as ripe and sown in shallow drills about 8 inches apart in a rich, moist seed bed, preferably in partial shade. When of sufficient size they may be set in the field at about the same distance as the divided clumps.

The plants are cut late in the summer when in full bloom and the leaves and flowering tops stripped from the stem by hand and carefully dried without exposure to the sun. Yields of well-cultivated boneset are quite large and 2,000 pounds or more per acre of dry herb may be obtained under favorable conditions. The prewar price for boneset rarely exceeded 2 to 3 cents a pound. The price in June, 1920, was 12 to 13 cents a pound. Since the demand is limited and the wild supply fairly available, the cultivation of boneset does not offer much prospect of profit.