Sharon:
Another great article on an interesting and useful plant! I remember receiving a little Aloe "pup" from a co-worker in the mid 1970's and that thing grew and multiplied to the point where it was over running a flower bed. We dug hundreds of large, medium and small Aloe's out one year, gave them to neighbors and friends and still had what seemed like a truck load that went out with the trash. I now keep one or two Aloe's in containers because I can't imagine being without that healing sap! Years ago when one of my nieces came to Florida on vacation she spent too many hours on the beach and got a pretty bad sunburn. I immediately cut off a couple of Aloe spikes, took scissors and cut away the spines down each side of the stem, slit the stem down the center and put the aloe juice on her sunburn. She was amazed at how quickly it cooled her burning skin! Some folks have said that the aloe juice stinks, but it's the best burn remedy ever! I can't count the number of times I've burned myself on the stove, or with the iron and the first thing I reach for when that happens is my garden shears to cut a stem of Aloe! I think every household should have a little Aloe plant on the kitchen windowsill!
Lin
