Debbie Baker, age 13, of Santa Cruz, Calif., for her question:

WHAT IS A STAR ROUTE?

A star route in the United States is a postal route over which mail¬s not delivered by usual rail, water or air conveyances but in trucks by special contracted agents.

The term "star route" arose in the 19th Century from the practice of marking such routes in the West in handwritten map books of the Post Office Department with three asterisks or stars, indicating that the means of mail transport was unspecified.

Because star routes mostly covered mountainous or relatively remote regions, horses or wagons were usually used for delivery. In the 20th Century these means were superseded by motor vehicles.

With the reduction of railroad mail service, the number of star routes in the United States today has increased to more than 12,000, the average length being about 22 miles.

Star routes are to be distinguished from rural deliveries, which are the direct functions of the U.S. Postal Service.