Clarissa Cow is modeled after a Holstein-Friesian, the most popular dairy breed in New York State. She has traveled all over New York State to promote good nutrition, agriculture, and the Empire State Carousel. She was hand carved by Bruno Speiser and painted by Jill Irving and now is a part of the Empire State Carousel.
During the nineteenth century, the woman of the household was usually responsible for making butter and cheese. She would use cream, skimmed from milk, to make butter in a butter churn.
Nineteenth century farmers often received information about new technology and equipment from printed broadsides. Broadsides were posters created for a specific purpose such as advertising, announcements, or information. This broadside advertises the American Cow Milker, a milking machine from that time period.
Almanzo James Wilder, the main character in Farmer Boy, and husband of author Laura Ingalls Wilder, was the fifth child of James and Angeline Wilder. The Wilder family left the farm in Franklin County in 1875, to seek better farmland in Minnesota. The 1875 New York Census, indicates that Almanzo’s oldest brother, Royal, remained on the family farm in New York.
The agricultural schedule of the New York Census shows the types of crops and animals being raised and goods being produced on farms in New York State, as well as the value of farmland.
Making cheese involved several steps. First, milk was separated into liquid whey and chunky curds. The whey was drained off to leave the curds. A cheese press squeezed out the last bit of liquid, and the blocks of cheese were rubbed with lard or butter to keep out air while the cheese aged.
In cool weather, cream rose to the top of the milk pan. Cream was skimmed from the top, placed in a butter churn, and stirred energetically until it became solid butter. This work was done mostly by women.
