I inclose a few seeds of the Mahogany tree which grows in this part of the State. Since I learned that this tree was the mahogany I am saving the seeds and mean to plant all I can get, and would ask you where I can get a supply, as I suppose that the tree is in other parts of this country.

Answer.-- The seeds sent are those of the Kentucky Coffee Tree (Gymnocladus canadensis) and has no botanical relation to the tree which yields the mahogany wood of commerce.

It is called the coffee tree for the given reason that the early settlers in Kentucky, where the tree grows in the forests, used the beans as a substitute for coffee.

The timber of this tree is of a fine compact grain and is sometimes used in cabinet work, hence it is in some places called the mahogany tree.

Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture, 1887