Thinly dotted about (6)
I believe the answer is:
sparse
'thinly dotted about' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
This is all the clue.
(Other definitions for sparse that I've seen before include "Far from lavish" , "Thinly dispersed" , "Meagre, thin on the ground" , "Thin on the ground, scarce" , "Thinly-spread" .)