Nine Persons Dead

A frigut ui accident occurred to the Portland Express near the Haverhill bridge which gpana tho Slerrimuc river between Haverhill and Branford, Masj., in which niae perrons were instautly killed and 14 ïnjurei. The train consisted of eight cars in charge of conductor Weyinouth aud engineer Frenen. Tlie train does not ücop ut nradford and was going at greut speed. Tho Georgetown branch train was stanl inte ou the track uenr the water tank nouse at the Uradfor.i end of the bridga waiting for the express train to pass over to Haverhil . As the express rounded t e curve two cars left the rails and went crasluug iuto itnd demolishing the water tank house. In tlus house u numberoi section men wereeatingdmuer. Mr. J. O'JSrieu, a retired inorchant oí bradford. wa- talking with the section hands, an.l wus killed, together with Air. Taylor, one of the laborera. The car erushed into the tank house, kuockiug the foundation out. letting the heavy tank down upon tue rar erushing türough the top of thu car and doing fearlul worK witbin. The uoxt car behind teloscoped the one aheadof it, adding to the havoc. The kiiled an.d wounded wore mostiy in these two oars. l'uu "U's bjniiid these two ran down aiougside the (eorgetowu train, barely escaping a colusión with the engine oí tuut train. The pnopie in the smoker had a frighrful experience. One of the wheels ou the irout truck broke and the carbuinped again-.t the end of a bridge causing it to careen, and the car lan upon the bridge for some distancu upon the sleepers, then ctireened the other wuy and leaneil against tho irou work of the side of the bridge. The passengers, of whom there were about th.rty, tound themselves at the to, 01 the car, wnile it seemed to those w.io had sutticient presence o. mind to think. tbat t!i i ar wm tumbüug off the bride to the river below. The passengen rnauaued to crawl out, none being eriously injuro 1. As .oou as they reached solid ground, ueh is were abe rushed back and netped thoe who wero imprisoned in the wrecKed cars. C r . m ii .. i a i O :fs. The estimates of acreage, product and value of corn wheat and oats for each state and territory hus been prepared for public. ition by tiie statistician of the departmeut of agriculture. The area of corn harvested. excluding abandoned or worthless aerea; e is 72,000,OOU acres in round nunibers, product 1,45 , OO.OOU busheU; value, $t4ti,t)J ,ujj, Area of wheat, 87,4OO,ÜUO acre; product, 45,OOP,000 bushels; value, ïHl.i.Uil.i.t),);). Area In oats, nearly 2(i,00(i,000 acres; product, tuy,000,000 bushels; value, ilX,0 i0,000. The reports of winter wheat do not show iiiuch decreasu of area, In Texas there is considerable increase and slight increase in sonio other Rtates. 'fhu average decline appears to be betweon one and two per cent. In kentucky .7; Uhio, 9i Michigan, 9á; Indiana, 10J; Illinois 9 Missouri, 6B: Kansas, 9S. The condition is all'ected somewhat by the dryness of the Beed bed in the district that su:loru;l trom drought. delayin sceding, gernnuation and growth. The late rains greatly improved the situntion. Tlie averge conditiou is tö, ranging in the principal statos froni 10 to 9.'. The conditiou oí the w iutar rye coincides very c!oely with that of wheat. The [ronTr-uie Prosperous. In his review of the American iron trade for the year 1?, General Manager James M. Swank, of the American iron and steel associatiou, say: "The year that has just closed was one of great activity and fair prosperity for the iron trade of this country. Produetion in all leading branches of tbe manufacture of iron and steel was the largest in uur history- larger than in the remarkable yrar li, when all previous achieveineuts were left far behiud. Weestimate our produetion of pig iron in lï87 at ti.i'iU.UUO groas lous, or about 000,000 tons more tbau lo 1388. Our production of Bessemer steel rails in litó? was about 1,950,000 gross tons, or about :slö,000 tons more than in IS8 I "