Take the rind of a nice watermelon, cut it in strips and boil them a quarter of an hour, with a tea spoonful of saleratus to three or four quarts of water, then soak them in alum water an hour, rinse and put them in clarified syrup, and boil them twenty minutes. When they have stood three or four days, turn the syrup from them, and boil it, then turn it back on the rinds while hot. Allow equal weights of rinds and sugar.
[244.] To Preserve Cherries.
Allow three quarters of a pound of sugar, to a pound of cherries. Make your syrup, allowing half a pint of water, to two pounds of cherries, put in your cherries, shake them occasionally to prevent their sticking to the kettle. When the syrup is colored strain the cherries.
[245.] To Preserve Muskmelons.
Procure muskmelons that are perfectly green, the later in the season, the better. Scrape off the skin of the rind, taking care not to scrape the green part. Cut them through the middle, and take out the seeds, then cut them in the form of rings an inch thick. Put them in salt and water, and let them lay several days, then in fair water one day, changing the water several times; take them out and soak them in alum water, one or two hours. Take race ginger, the green is the best, soak it until you can scrape off the outside, cut it in slices, and boil it until tender. Boil your melons in fresh water, with a handful of peach leaves, and the ginger, allowing half an ounce to each pound of fruit. When the melon is tender, put it in alum water, together with the ginger. Make the syrup for the melons, allowing a pound of white sugar, to a pound of the fruit, when clarified put in the melons, and boil them, together with the ginger, half an hour, take them up, turn the syrup over them, when cool, drop in a little essence of lemon. When they have stood several days turn the syrup from them, boil and turn it back while hot, to the melons.
[246.] To Preserve Pine Apples.
Pare off the rind of the pine apples, cut them in slices an inch thick. Weigh out a pound of white sugar, allowing a pound of it to each pound of fruit, lay your pine apples in a deep dish, on each layer of it sprinkle some of your sugar, (which should be powdered.) Set the pine apples away till the next day, reserving part of the sugar. Then turn the syrup from the pine apples into your preserving pan, add your reserved sugar, put in a tea cup of water, to the juice of four or five pine apples, clarify it, then put in the apples, and boil them till tender. Let the whole stand in a dish several days, and if there is any appearance of fermentation, put it in a preserving pan, scald it through, then turn it into glasses, and set it in a cool place.
[247.] To Preserve Pumpkins.
Take a good sweet pumpkin, halve it, take out the seeds, and cut it in chips, of the size of a dollar. To each pound of pumpkin, allow a pound of powdered loaf sugar, and a gill of lemon juice. Put your pumpkin chips in a dish, and to each layer, put a layer of sugar, turn the lemon juice over the whole, and let it stand a day, then boil it till tender, with half a pint of water to four or five pounds of the pumpkin. Tie up ginger in a bag, and boil with it, also the rind of several lemons, cut into chips.