GERANIUM MACULATUM.—SPOTTED CRANE'S-BILL. 155 
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 macu- 
Jatum 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. Darlington’s 
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 
