GERANIUM MACULATUM. SPOTTED CRANES-BILL. I 55 



Other orders which are of too abstract a nature to refer to in a 

 popular work ; but the student will find the Geranium an ex- 

 cellent aid in this attractive study. 



A very interesting point in reference to the Geranium maac- 

 latum is the fact that, though it is one of the most widespread of 

 our native plants, it shows very little disposition to vary in the 

 most widely separated locations. It is found almost everywhere 

 from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Atlantic Ocean 

 west, almost to the Rocky Mountains, often when in open woods 

 in the greatest profusion. In Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee 

 it is frequently so abundant as to make it difficult to walk through 

 its herbage. In Pennsylvania, from whence our specimen was 

 taken, and which induced the selection of Dr. Darlincrton's 



o 



description, they are more scattered through the half-shaded 

 woods ; but still make no mean show among the pretty flowers 

 which make a woodland walk in that State so pleasant in May 

 and June. The only variations of importance are in the shades 

 of color. Sometimes they are brighter than in our picture, and 

 then again they are often found nearly white. 



In addition to its artistic beauties, and its scientific interest, it 

 contributes in a more material way to the wants of man. It was 

 a famous remedy among the Indians for wounds, ulcers and hemor- 

 rhages, and has been found by many good physicians very useful 

 in dysenteries, especially among children. 



Many of the old world species have found favor with the poets 

 and emblematic writers ; but, so far as we know, Mrs. William 

 Wirt, one of our most intelligent authors in this line, is the only 

 one who has given our " spotted Crane's-bill " any attention. She 

 dedicates it to " envy," as, she remarks, " it has not much beauty to 

 recommend it, yet its retiring and modest worth, so generally 

 overlooked for those (Geraniums) admitted to gay saloons, may 

 well be supposed to excite something like the envy of its more 

 favored rivals." 



As noted in Dr. Darlington's description, the leaves are often 

 marked with white blotches, and thus we have the Latin specific 



