On filter magnetograms of the Sun made at Lockheed Solar Observatory, small mottles create a salt-and-pepper appearance. Outside plages, the surface seems to be sprinkled with little magnetic elements, with opposite polarities intermingled. The many steps of the photographic subtraction process required to make these elements visible tend to cast doubt on their reality. Independent and stronger evidence for the quantization of magnetic field, recently presented by Livingston and Harvey (1969), stimulates an effort to define more carefully the characteristics of the elements seen on filter magnetograms. The purpose of this contribution is to show that these characteristics are compatible with those of the elements observed at Kitt Peak.