John's Beekeeping Notebook
A Taste of American Beekeeping History:
Beekeeping Equipment
Smokers
Smokers came in a variety
of designs. 
"We can drive cattle and horses, and, to some extent, drive even pigs, with a whip; but one who undertakes to drive bees in any such way will find to his sorrow, that all the rest of the animal kingdom are mild in comparison"
-A. I. Root, in The ABC of Bee Culture, 1895
Some beekeepers used a technique called
"drumming" to remove bees from a hive. They would put an empty box tightly on
top of the hive and close up the hive entrance. Then they would beat the sides of the hive
like a drum for 10 or 15 minutes. All the bees would move up to the empty box, leaving the
hive empty so the honey could be removed.
Veils
The veils were practical, though
somewhat different from veils today.
Moving Bees & Honey
No forklifts or 18-wheelers!
Bees were moved on horse-drawn trailers. Some
horses even had bee suits to protect them from stings!
Hive staples apparently were not invented yet. Books
recommended tying hives together with rope when transporting them.