On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, eight maids a milking… The advent of automated milking machinery has made the milk maid somewhat redundant over the years.  However thanks to the preservation of literature, it will never be a completely lost art.

The Complete Servant Maid; or Young Woman’s Best Companion by Anne Barker

This 1792 booklet printed for young servant maids contains full, plain, and easy directions for qualifying them for service in general. The section devoted to the work of the dairymaid includes instruction on making butter and various cheeses.