Hungry Fire Department Horses

Fire department horses in the big cities are, as a rule, ravenous feeders. There are certain hours of the day when they are fed, and the horse soon comes to know the feeding hours as weD as the hostlers. As early as 5:30 o'clock in the morning is oats feeding time. If the feeder happens to be a little slow in getting down stairs, if he is only two minutes late, there is the greatest tramping of hoofs on the wooden Moors, kicking the sides of the stalls and the wickedest champing of bridle bits ever seen or heard in a stable. This sort of racket is kept up continuously, too, until the oats are divided out for the meal. The moment they commence feeding, if an alarm comes in, every horse in the house will leave his oats and take his place under the swinging harness, and will impatiently dance around anxious to get off for a run. The fire department horse is, I believe, the only one that will leave his oats voluntarily to go to work. The best hostlers in the department always take the bits out of the mouths of the horses at feeding time. This is done to give the animal a chance to thoroughly mastícate his food. The horse that eats with the bit in his mouth soon loses his apcetite from indigestión, and will not last lonsr in the