  The abundance of alpha-process elements such as magnesium and carbon relative
to iron measured from the broad emission lines of QSOs can serve as a
diagnostic of the star formation and chemical enrichment histories of their
host galaxies.
  We investigate the relationship between Fe/Mg and Fe/C abundance ratios and
the resulting Fe II / Mg II 2800A and Fe II / 1900A-blend flux ratios, both of
which have been measured in QSOs out to redshifts of approximately six. Using a
galactic chemical evolution model based on a starburst in a giant elliptical
galaxy, we find that these flux ratios are good tracers of the chemical
enrichment of the nuclei. However, the values of these ratios measured in
objects at redshifts of approximately six suggest that iron enrichment has
occurred more rapidly in these objects than predicted by the assumed elliptical
starburst model, under currently favored cosmologies.
