Evening journal., 1896-09-01
WHERE spoRTsMeN ARE HAPPY.

MOST EXTENSIVE GAME PRESERVE
IN MARYLAND-ON THE OLD MUIR
ESTATE, NEAR CAMBRIDGE.
CAMBRIDGE. Md. August 81
The most extensive game preserve in
Maryland is the old Muir estate, Cooks
Point, in Dorchester county, recently
bought by John Harrison, of the firm
OF Harrison Brothers & Co., Philadel-
phia. Having already stocked it with
over 1000 partidges and large num-
ber of rabbits Mr.. Harrison is now
trying the difficult experiment of Eng
lish pheasant raising. Cooks Point is
admirably situated for this purpose,
being almost an island, only connected
by narrow strip with the adjoining
land, from which it is separated by D
wire fence nine feet high. 1t is 15
miles from Cambridge, and, with the
bay on one side and the Choptank
river on the other, forms an immense
cage for the birds living there.
The Bowly Club, near Baltimore,
furnished Mr.. Harrison with 500 Eng
lish pheasant eggs, over 300 of which
Matched, and the birds are now in a
healthy condition. rough estimate
OF the buying, raising, ETC., shows the
cost of each bird to be about IS. No
incubators were used, but all the
available setting hens in the neighbor-
hood were pressed into the service
/ The birds are inclosed in two-inch
mesh wire pen, seven feet high, and
covering one acre. The male birds.
numbering about 175, will be used for
| shooting in November except %.
which, with all OF the females. will be
Il la nj -
will be hunted with six retriever dogs.
they being the only kind used on the
place.
Aleck MacVicar, son of Donald
MacVicar, manager of the Bowlv Club.
had full control of the birds until a
few days ago, when they were trans
| ferred to Il. +. Busick. the super
| intendent of "The Moors," as the es-
tate is called. Mr.. MacVicar came to
| this country from Scotland several
years ago, where he was gamekeeper
for the Duke of Argyle. He is men,
Der of the MacGregor clan and a de-
| scendant OF the famous Rob Roy. 81
Mr.. Harrison has just finished re-
building the old manor that has stood
on the point since about the middle of
| the Seventeenth century. The new
building, like the old one, is of Colo
| nial design and is furnished through
out with antique furniture some of
which is over 200 years old The din
ing room, which is is the largest room
/ in the house. is built in the hunting
| lodge style, with its low ceiling and
| deep exposed rafters. The whole
| room is finished in hard wood, with
an immense window seat on the west
side. The gun room is on the second
floor, and will, when finished, be per-
| fectly moisture-proof, having an in
side lining of metal.
While cutting up an old oak to be
used in the building the workmen
| found sevral pieces of fire tongs i'm
bedded in the heart of the tree near
the top. It is thought that they were
| fired from a cannon in the defence of
the point against the British when
they tried to effect a landing in the
| year 1912.
Mr.. Harrison is now on his annual
trip to Europe, but will be home in
time for the wild goose and duck
shooting He has several "honkers'
confined in pens that he uses as liv,
decoys. This is the only way tn,
geese may be hunted with success
since the recent law has extinguishet
the goose lights" Great numbers o
redheads, sprigtails, dippers, whiffers
coots and black-head ducks abound il
the waters surrounding the shores
also limited number of canvas
backs.