180 PRACTICAL FORESTRY 
of course have the preference. The economical util- 
ization of forest materials requires just as much skill 
and foresight as their production. Nothing could be 
more incongruous than the manufacture of grape-vine 
props from the big trees of California. The most 
successful manager is the man who puts everything to 
its proper use. Many wonder at the abundance of 
slash left by the lumberman. The wonder is, how- 
ever, that American ingenuity has not devised a 
profitable means for its utilization. The problem 
simply needs experimentation and the application of 
labor-saving devices. 
The abundance of such materials, many claim, is 
a hindrance. In case a great variety of uses is de- 
vised for this material, its abundance is an advantage 
in that it insures a cheap and lasting supply. Its 
utilization will save other more valuable materials. 
The manufacture of paper-pulp from large spruce 
logs when small spruce logs will do just as well, is a 
waste, in that the log is not being used for the pur- 
pose for which it is most fit. As forests are better 
cared for, this waste material will decrease in quan- 
tity. The ideal forest is the one in which there is 
the greatest amount of the best material and the 
smallest amount of the poorest. 
This stuff is chemically and physically the same 
as large timber. It exists, unfortunately, in the 
