From 1859:
After straining the milk, set it away for about twelve hours, for the cream to “rise.” (Milk dishes ought to have good strong handles to lift them by.) After standing as above, set the milk without disturbing it on the stove; let it remain there until you observe the coating of cream on the surface assume a wrinkled appearance, but be careful it does not boil, as should this be the case the cream will mix with the milk and cannot again be collected. Now set it away till quite cold and then skim off the cream, mixed with as little milk as possible. When sufficient cream is collected proceed to make it into butter as follows:
Take a wooden bowl, or any suitable vessel, and having first scalded and then rinsed it with cold spring water, place the cream in it. Now let the operator hold his hand in water as hot as can be borne for a few seconds, then plunge it in cold water for about a minute, and at once commence to agitate the cream by a gentle circular motion. In five minutes or less, the butter will have come, when, of course, it must be washed and salted according to taste. No better butter can be made by the best churn ever invented.
To those who keep only one cow, this method of making butter will be found really valuable; while quite as large a quantity of butter is obtained as by the common mode, the skim-milk is much sweeter and palatable. In the summer season it will usually be found necessary to bring the cream out of the cellar (say a quarter of an hour before churning) to take the excessive chill off; in winter place the vessel containing the cream over another containing water to warm it; then continue to agitate the cream until the chill has departed.
Before washing the butter, separate all the milk you possibly can, as the latter will be found excellent for tea cakes. Butter made in this manner will be much firmer, and less oily in hot weather than when made in the ordinary way.