A mechanical pipette.

An automatic pipette is a very useful equipment for any laboratory carrying out Kahn tests on a large number of sera. A number of devices were tried in a field laboratory which was functioning as a serological laboratory for the CeylonArmy Command during the years 1945 and 1946. A mechanical pipette which can easily be prepared with materials salvaged from a small workshop is described below. The writer does not claim any originality in describing this pipette, as it was made after one reported by Smith (1944). It was, however, found necessary completely to alter the design of the mechanical parts of the apparatus described by him, as it did not prove to be satisfactory in the writer's hand. The valve system used in this improved apparatus was similar to that described by Smith.