Horns of Plenty

Bull stats on the great King Ranch
By Paul Kvinta

Nothing is so quintessentially Texas as King Ranch. It's big. It's swaggering. It's full of red meat. And, for those traveling to south Texas, it's ubiquitous, sprawling across 90 miles of the coast. To help while away the time required to cross it, here are a few facts about the world's largest operating cattle ranch:

Acreage of King Ranch: 825,000
Acreage of Rhode Island: 776,960
Head of cattle on King Ranch: 60,000
Employees at King Ranch: 300
Horses at King Ranch: 300
Windmills: 350
Helicopters: 1
Occupied dwellings: 181
Fireplaces in Main House: 26
Bedrooms in Main House: 16
Residents of Main House: 0
Miles of patented King Ranch Wire Mesh fencing: enough to stretch from Corpus Christi to Boston
Percentage of American males who could get a Quarter Pounder were the ranch's whole herd sold: 100
Main ingredient of the official King Ranch Casserole: chicken
Name of ranch's national champion quarter horse: Peppy San Badger
Nickname since beginning his stud career: "just Peppy"
Cowboy hats at King Ranch: few. "Our cowboys wear baseball caps."