Trevor Ott, age 9, of Ronceverte, West Va., for his question:

WHAT IS A FARRIER?

 At one time, blacksmiths who shod horses were called farriers. )VN

Farrier comes from a Latin word which means of iron.

The farrier, and blacksmith, made repairs on iron objects by hammering them by hand on an anvil. He would first heat the iron to a red glow in a forge which he kept hot by hand operated bellows.

Next the smith would shape and weld his iron items. Perhaps the most important articles smiths made in the past were the horsehoes which protected the feet of horses.

The farrier, or blacksmith, or smith has almost been completely eliminated from his job by mass production methods and the invention of the automobile.