mesquite

all over the south west you find mesquite. scrub mesquite all the way to river mesquite  that grows along water courses.  it has a thorn that has been used for diaper pins all the way to something to write with, using the juice of a ripe tuna fruit for ink.  cattle and horses on the sonoran desert live out their lives on the leaves, flowers and beans of the mesquite.  high in protein the mesquite bean is a great feed for livestock and people alike. ive had a bread made from flour of the bean. it has a natural sweetness not found in other desert plants.  it is a hard wood that is almost impossible to keep a ax sharp on or a chainsaw chain will actualy throw sparks when cutting it.  for centurys people of all persuasions have used it for cooking, warmth, and a building material. ive been in houses in mexico where the mesquite vegas were at least 200 years old.  the problem with mesquite is it just wont grow straight.  in a drouthy year the tree twists and turns  and sends out its root system many feet in all directions for every drop of moisture it can find.  in recent years range management proffesionals who have fine educations have recommended the eradication of mesquite so the native grasses could flourish. in those areas where dozers and track hoes have grubbed out the mesquite the cattle there in the dry times must be fed a supplement that wasn't needed before.  the ground is bare and when the summer rains come in heavy, swift amounts there is nothing to hold the soil from washing away.  and a few years after the mesquite is grubbed you can see the hardy plant sprouting again, sometimes thicker than before.  ive spent my whole life among the mesquite trees, the short shrub type all the way to big , tall river variaties . I have alternately cussed the thickets and praised them.  what is popular today is going to be put aside for a program of common sense.  it always comes to that. on the desert different plants, at different times become fodder and feed for the livestock.  to eradicate a species is foolish for it  leaves a blank spot in the cycle.  to which man must artificialy supply fodder for his herds. besides I like the smell of the blooms. god help us with out mesquite.