Originally, the silvicultural system now called coppicing was practiced solely for small wood production. In German this is called "Niederwald", which translates as low forest. Later on in Mediaeval times farmers encouraged pigs to feed from acorns, and so some trees were allowed to grow bigger. This different silvicultural system is called in English "coppice with standards". In German this is called "Mittelwald" (middle forest). As modern forestry ("Hochwald" in German, which translates as High forest) seeks to harvest timber mechanically, and pigs are generally no longer fed from acorns, both systems have declined. However, there are cultural and wildlife benefits from these two silvicultural systems, so both can be found where timber production or some other main forestry purpose (such as a protection forest against an avalanche) is not the sole management objective of the woodland.