166 THE AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 



Light Brahma, Barred and White Rock blood, with other crosses 

 added. He had no use for a single comb Columbian Wyandotte 

 masquerading in the showroom as a Columbian Rock, and on this 

 vital matter of the day wrote in 1911: 



Some strains aru of Coliiniljiaii VVj'andotte extraclion and arc light-boned and 

 small. I prefer the stock I have secured by use of Brahma and Rock blood largely. 

 While I tliink that Columbian Wyandotte blood has played a part, and a not 

 unimportant part, in the foundation of our breed, Columbian 1-tocks and Columbian 

 Wyandottes as properly bred today are distinct and separate breeds in type. And 

 tins separation is important and should be strictly insisted upon. The penalty of 

 showing a sport Wyandotte as a Columbian Rock should be to disbar the bird. 

 Ko matter how good a bird of that type might be in color, he should never be 

 allowed by any judge to be considered alongsiile of the upstanding, heavy boned 

 Rock type of bird, even if the latter were off in color. 



Sweet also originates a strain. Although Clemens was the first to 

 produce the variety and the hrst to advertise it, modesty did not 

 permit him to claim to be the sole originator. George H. Sweet, of 

 East Aurora, New York, had worked on the variety at about the 

 same time. 



Sweet had become interested in Light Brahmas as a boy. His 

 father had been a Dark Brahma breeder, but young Sweet could 

 never forget such specimens of the grand old Light Brahma as 

 Philander Williams used to show. Charles A. Sweet, father, was a 

 well known judge and breeder, helped to found the American Poultry 

 .\ssociation, served as president of that organization from 1875 to 

 1881, and was chairman of the committee that wrote the instructions 

 to judges in the first Standard of Excellence, as it was then called. 

 Sweet senior was proud that he had one son who took a deep personal 

 interest in purebred fowl, and George Sweet's poultry career began 

 when as quite a small boy his father took him to the poultry shows, 

 where he made himself useful in selling catalogs or serving as clerk 

 for the old-time judges and marking score cards as they would call 

 off the cuts. 



In 1905 George H. Sweet happened to see a magnificent Light 

 Brahma cock that was almost a clean-legged fellow. He purchased 

 the bird at once and procured some White Plymouth Rock hens as 

 mates. Several of the chickens that were produced l)y this mating 

 proved to be about what was wanted, although the crossing with a 

 pure v\'hite variety had resulted in a weakening of the Light Brahma 

 markings, and the cockerels and pullets that he bred were deficient 

 in black color in hackle striping, wings and tail. 



Sweet then was able to secure some eggs from another eastern breeder 

 v;ho was working along the same lines, and from these eggs he raised 

 two quite good specimens. Rapid strides were made from year to year, 

 and in 1909 he exhibited some of his best specimens at the Madison Square 

 Garden (New York) show, where M, S. Gardner officiated as judge and 

 spoke in terms of praise of the newcomers. 



Sweet's aim was to produce birds of Rock type and maintain as 



