The Savannah morning news., 1903-07-09
SIR THOMAS IN A NEW ROLE.
Yachtsmnn Buys Georgia Land and
Will Raise Vegetables.
From the New York Telegra.


Will Raise Vegetables.
From the New York Telegram.
Sir Thomas Upton has become the
owner of large tracts of land in Geor-
gia, and it seems not a little singular
that the facts of his purchase have not
already gone the rounds of the press.
Sir Thomas has, of course, large en-
terprises under way in connection with
this purchase. 1t is his intention, which
he has already partly carried out, to
raise vegetables and small fruits for
the London market To insure the
complete success of that venture in
some one of the many famous ports
where great ships take on their inn
mense bulk and completeness workmen
are now laying the keels of huge
steamers equipped with cold-storaga
plants. In the future these steamers,
laden with the products of Sir Thomas
Lipton's American plantations, will sail
direct from the nearest port in Georgia
to the London docks.
Those conversant with the success of
this enterprising EngliShman in supply
ing the world with tea from his pos
sessions in Ceylon will readily believe
in the future of his latest venture in
the business world. Those who have
Travelled and have learned by eXper-
fence of the limited supply of fresh
vegetables and fruit even on hotel ta-
bles in many cities of Europe will
realize how great will be the benefit to
the people of England, especially to the
members of the poorer classes, when
the ships of Sir Thomas Upton carry
to the London markets the desirable
Injuries of fresh vegetables and fruit
from the fertile lands of Georgia.
In London, in even ffrst-class restau-
rants and hotels, the diner is obliged to
pay shilling for d peach or a pear,
carefully wrapped in tissue paper and
in whatever condition. The very
wealthy have their tables supplied from
the dollhouse gardens and orchards of
their estate, but even those who are
called of the middle classes have on
their tables what in America would be
considered a very small proportion of
fresh vegetables and fruit.
Several years ago a group of enter
prising fruit growers of California sent
direct to Queen Victoria a carload of
| selected fruit which was taken from
New York in a compartment of a
meat refrigerator of an Atlantic steam
er. In the letter of thanks which the
the Californians she expressed the hope
that before long all her people might
be able to enjoy fresh products of the
| gardens and orchards of America.
The land purchased by Sir Thomas is
in a region renowned in all the history
of Georgia. From the earliest settle
nents there the land was cultivated,
| because it possesses great and peculiar
agricultural advantages. His lands adj
fnSV he foVV oil vAla taAf ton in
Georgia, the Copper plantation.
| Streams which are affected by the tide
waters of the Gulf give to large re-
| gion those peculiar agricultural advant-
| ages to be found nowhere else.
AS far back as the earliest days of
| Georgia this region was occupied by
| planters, who added to the natural
richness of the soil by some rude at
tempts at irrigation and drainage-by
| taking advantage of the tidal varla-
| tions of the rivers
Many years before the Civil War this
| Couper plantation was famed not only
in this country, but in Europe, for its
| ingenious and extensive system of can
| ais and bikes, which permitted both
| the drainage and flooding of these
| thousands of acres as the growing
| crops demanded, So extensive were
| these artificial waterways that more
| plantation alone.
! A magnificent mansion of the purest
style of Colonial architecture was the
home of the master of those 1,00O
slaves and the owner of those broad
acres and miles of canals and hundreds
| of bikes of the Copper plantation
In that mansion the old-time South
ern hospitality was dispensed with a
| largeness that Wed with the extent of
! the plantation. Frederick Braemer,
the Swedish traveller. whose book of
| travels in America created much inter
est, visited the Copper plantation and
gave a brilliant description of the
| scenes and surroundings, it's entertain
ments and the people who visited there
| with her.
With the ravages of war and the dis
| integrating effects of time itself, the
extensive system of canals and bikes
on the Copper and adjoining planta-
lions became useless and partially de-
stroyed. The magnificent mansion was
in places crumbing into ruins, and al
| together abandoned and neglected. But
| the day came when some keen business
men began to appreciate the wonderful
possibilities of agricultural land like
| that of the Copper plantation and 9TH
ers in the neighborhood.
The magnificent old mansion is being
rebuilt, and, although no slaves now go