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Pumpkin Preserved in Pieces

Pare off the outer skin, cut in halves, remove the seeds and divide each half into pieces about two inches square. Put them in a stone jar, add a half cup of salt to every five pounds of pumpkin. Cover with cold water and stand aside five hours, then drain and cover with fresh cold water. Soak two hours, changing the water three or four times. If you wish it crisp at the expense of health, dissolve a teaspoonful of powdered alum in two quarts of boiling water, add to the pumpkin and bring to boiling point. If the alum is omitted, bring the pumpkin to boiling point in the water; drain in a colander. Put two and a half pounds of granulated sugar and one and a half quarts of boiling water in a preserving kettle, boil and skim. When perfectly clear, put in the pumpkin and cook gently until you can pierce it with a wooden skewer or straw. Then lift each piece carefully with a skimmer and place it on a large plate. Stand in the sun two hours to harden. Chip the yellow rind from one large lemon, add to the syrup; add the juice of two lemons and a small piece of ginger root cut in thin slices. Boil ten minutes and stand aside to cool. When the pumpkin rind is hardened and cold, put in glass jars. Bring the syrup again to boiling point, strain it over the pumpkin and when cool, fasten or seal.