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.