§ Sir R. GOWERasked the President of the Board of Education the number of local education authorities, if any, providing instruction in farriery, including the anatomy and physiology of the horse's foot, proper methods of shoeing horses, foot diseases and their treatment, and cognate matters, including first aid, in evening technical or other classes, with special reference to colliery horses and ponies; and whether he will take steps to encourage the formation of such classes by local education authorities in the various coalfields?
§ Mr. RAMSBOTHAMIn the session 1930–31 classes in farriery were provided by the local education authorities for London, Halifax, Manchester, Sheffield and the West Riding of Yorkshire. The class provided by the last-named authority is held at the Castleford, Normanton and District Mining and Technical Institute, where a class in the anatomy of the horse's foot is also provided, and it can be assumed that the instruction here given has special reference to colliery horses and ponies. The board's information does not enable them to say whether this aspect of the subject is specially studied in any of the other classes. The board would always be ready to consider favourably any proposals for the establishment of farriery or similar classes in mining areas where horses and ponies are largely used.