THE TILT BOX. 165 



is as follows : You ring the bell at 22, at the same time 

 causing the flag, 25, to flutter, although the flag is not 

 absolutely necessary, and then you jar the crank, 21, 

 slightly, causing a few particles to fall, and the chicks 

 rush pell-mell through the exit apertures, 8 and 9, into 

 the stationary box, 7. You then immediately begin to 

 rotate the tilt box, pausing when the tilt is half accom- 

 plished, at which time the floor of the box stands at a 

 slope of 45 and the litter has not begun to slump or 

 slide at all. During this pause you tap the crank, 16, 

 of the main cylinder, 10, causing a sprinkle of feed to 



FIG. 70. END OF SHAFT. 



drop upon the litter. Then you complete the tilt, and 

 the feed will be found mixed all through the ridge or 

 windrow of litter. 



Next bring the tilt box to a level position, which 

 affords ingress to the birds, and, no bell call being now 

 necessary, in they will rush in two seconds, and proceed 

 to tackle the windrow and level it, to a surprising degree 

 uniformly, all over the bottom of the box, if the litter is 

 not too coarse, and they will be just about twenty minutes 

 doing it every time, if the quantities of both litter and 

 grain are right. Three times an hour, or thirty or more 

 times a day, you can repeat the operation as you choose. 



The bell call, or a flag call, or some sort of a signal, is 

 a necessity, at first, when the chicks are to be enticed 



