https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/38940569.pdf

By 1921, production of melons from Muscatine County totaled 750 carloads of watermelon, produced on around 2000 acres of land; and 100 carloads of muskmelon and cantaloupe, grown on around 500 acres. The 1925 Iowa State Vegetable Growers Association reported that Hal Wolford of Conesville was growing Hales Best and Perfectos: “The biggest benefit over California melons is that they are vine-ripened close to market.” It took approximately 12 days for the melons to reach the East Coast from the West Coast, whereas it took about six to eight days from Iowa (Iowa State Vegetable Growers Association Annual Report, 1925). Truck growers at this point used domestic farm labor for producing and harvesting, and any other labor needed came from the city of Muscatine. Most of the vegetables were marketed in Chicago, St. Louis, Memphis, New Orleans, and the Twin Cities. Chicago was a 12-hour run by railroad; St. Louis, Kansas City and New Orleans were on direct rail lines, which offered good transportation facilities to the area growers. The Growers Association also reported for the first time in 1925 that Iowa cantaloupes were shipped to New York in carlots.