While I cannot offer much help on the historical aspects, I still do offer my free service to anyone so foolish as to still try to use a Porter escape, as I may be one of the last men alive who knows how to adjust the springs properly.

This knowledge was gleaned from the delightfully irascible George Imrie of "Pink Pages" fame. He said at the time that HE was the last man alive who knew how to adjust them correctly, and one could never doubt a single word intoned with such absolute authority.

Ann Harmon was present (as they have both passed on, it can now be told that Ann did nearly all George's hands-on beekeeping for him in the later years of George's life - she swore me to secrecy when I helped out with some of the heavy lifting), and she remarked on how many times a bee would get stuck in a porter escape, and trap all the other bees in the super.  It was complaints like these that led to the work that resulted in Bee-Quick.

But if you want one adjusted, I do it for free to carry on the duty George undertook. You pay postage both ways.

My goal was to be at least half as ornery as George was, but I have consistently come up short.

 

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