Ya know I've never owned anything that had a carb with a "tickler". So, is it just a way to prime the engine by depressing the float to allow more gasoline into the carb ? It seems like it would create a condition like slightly flooding the engine a bit so you have a rich start condition.

When I was a kid there were some older guys with Cushmans and "Mustangs"
that I would see reach down and hit a "prime" two or three times before kicking
the starter. I once watched this guy who had recently purchased one of these old bikes and was kicking himself numb. I'm with my mom and at like five years of age point out to that part of the carb (as I'd seen these other guys press on it a few times) and the guy looks at me dumbfounded. So he does it and kicks the starter and it starts. He pulled out looking at me in shock.

So.....is this tickler a primer or what ?