Abatage is accomplished as follows: (1) The brake shoes are dropped to the ground in rear of the point of contact of the wheels with the ground; (2) The trail is lifted, turning around the axle, until the spade is about five feet in the air. Tie rods and a slide working on a rack beneath the trail move forward in this action; (3) The trail is then brought down. The rack prevents the slide from moving to the rear and the carriage turns on the abatage frame until the wheels rest upon the brake shoes. This gives the gun a three point support, two small spades under the wheels and a larger one at the end of the trail. =Laying in direction= is accomplished by traversing the piece on the axle. The trail spade is fixed and the axle is straight and rigid so that in the movement of the gun to the right and left on the axle both wheels must turn—one to the front and one to the rear. The device for laying for direction is composed of a threaded axle, which is prevented from rotating by a spur and a sliding nut which is contained in a box fixed on the left flask of the gun. This nut bears one of the bevel gears, which is put in motion by the hand wheel. The traverse is three degrees either side of the center or a total of 6 degrees or about 105 mils. =Laying for elevation.= To obtain greater accuracy and speed in firing the 75 has an independent angle of site. A rocker with two trunnions is interposed between the cradle and the carriage. The rocker trunnions are seated in the cradle trunnions and support them. This gives the same rotating axis to both rocker and cradle. This is necessary for the mechanical addition of the angle of site elevation and for the range elevation. When the angle of site handwheel is revolved it turns a pinion, which meshes in the rocker rack and thus causes the rocker to move in relation to the carriage. This gives the cradle through the rocker the elevation equal to the difference in elevation between the target and the gun. It is independent of the angle given to the gun for the elevation due to range to the target. [Illustration: 75 MM. GUN CARRIAGE, MODEL OF 1897 MI(FRENCH). _RANGE ELEVATING MECHANISM_] The angle given the gun for range is effected through a telescopic screw. This screw is fastened at one of its extremities in the rocker and at the other in the cradle. The nut which receives the elevating screw is seated in an oscillating support which allows it to always remain perpendicular to the axis of the bore at any elevation. The angular displacements of the cradle with respect to the rocker (angle of elevation) are recorded by the elevating system composed of a graduated arc and a range drum. The lower part of the arc is connected with the right arm of the rocker. The arc is graduated in meters. When the range handle is turned the arc does not move, but a brass slide block connected with the gun and the cradle and bearing an index slides along the arc. It is thus possible to set the range in meters.