246 ROAD, TRACK, AND STABLE. 
ing from 950 to 1,050 pounds, employed by the engi- 
neers in their light wagons. ‘hese horses, especially 
such as are used by the chief engineer, get more 
practice in running to fires than any others, and they 
become very clever in picking their way through a 
crowded street, breaking into a gallop whenever they 
see an open space before them, and pulling up promptly 
to avoid collisions. The tough, intelligent, short- 
stepping Morgan is excellently adapted for this pur- 
pose, and one of that breed has been used for eight 
years past by the veterinary surgeon connected with 
the Boston department. Another, used by a district 
engineer, is of about the same size and pattern, and of 
the same gamy disposition. 
The protective (insurance) wagon steeds, though 
not, strictly speaking, belonging to the fire depart- 
ment, should not be disregarded in this account. 
They show more “quality” than fire-engine horses, 
weigh less (about 1150 pounds), stand higher in pro- 
portion, and look like powerful coach horses. There 
are two protective wagons in Boston: one in the heart 
of the city, which weighs, with the men, about 7,800 
pounds; and the other, which is much lighter, at the 
South End. One or both of these wagons respond to 
every alarm of fire in the city, so that the horses 
attached to them do a great deal of work. On a cer- 
tain Fourth of July, one of these companies was 
called out on nineteen different occasions in the 
twenty-four hours; the horses not becoming cool 
enough throughout that time to be fed, and being 
supported by draughts of oat meal and water. 
The arrangements in the protective houses differ, 
for the worse, from those of the fire department. The 
