Leo BeauregGrd, age 13, of Feura Bush , N. Y., for the question:

Does an elephant breathe through his trunk?

If you had to choose the most amazing animal in the world, most likely you would choose the elephant and certainly the most amazing thing about him is his trunk. Actually itis along extension of his nose and upper lip, welded into a very complex tube. Some experts say that it is controlled by more then 40,000 different muscles. In any case, Jumbo uses his trunk to do a great many different things. He can and does breathe through it, though he can also take in air and let it out through his mouth when his trunk is busy doing something else.

The nostrils are at the tip of the trunk and they are very sensitive. It is said that Jumbo has the best sense of smell in the entire world. As he walks along, the great trunk is forever curving and waving this way and that. Jumbo is sniffing the breezes to catch the slightest odor of something which may or may not please him. In the wild, he uses his trunk in this way to test the wind.

From time to time, the wonderful trunk swings down and fingers lightly over the ground. Jumbo is then using it as a feeler to tell him whether there are stones or other obstacles in his path. All these operations indicate that the trunk is a very sensitive organ. It is also delicate, especially on the underside, and Jumbo is careful. to protect it carefully at all times, However, it is capable of far more strenuous work than sniffing the air and such.

Jumbo uses his trunk to both eat and drink. At the tip there is either one or two fingers, depending upon whether the elephant is from Asia or Africa. He uses his finger or fingers to pick up small objects such as peanuts and he uses the entire trunk as a hand and arm to gather leaves and stuff them into his big mouth.

When given water, Jumbo will stick his trunk in it end you might think that he is going to drink through his trunk. Not at all. He is merely sucking up water which he intends to squirt into his mouth. Jumbo loves a bath, especially if the taster is muddy. Here he uses his trunk as he does for drinking. Ho sucks up water or mud and squirts it over his body where he thinks he needs it. While drinking and bathing, of course, Jumbo cannot breathe through his trunk. At such times he breathes through his mouth.

The elephant is a very affectionate animal and he uses his trunk to caress and help his friends and relatives. He also makes his resounding trumpet call through his trunk. In fact, the name trunk is taken from the French word tromps, which means trumpet. In addition to all these wonderful qualities, Jumbo's trunk is strong enough to lift almost a ton ‑or hurl a man clear across a wide street.