  We report on different surface patterns on magnetic liquids following the
Rosensweig instability. We compare the bifurcation from the flat surface to a
hexagonal array of spikes with the transition to squares at higher fields. From
a radioscopic mapping of the surface topography we extract amplitudes and
wavelengths. For the hexagon--square transition, which is complex because of
coexisting domains, we tailor a set of order parameters like peak--to--peak
distance, circularity, angular correlation function and pattern specific
amplitudes from Fourier space. These measures enable us to quantify the smooth
hysteretic transition. Voronoi diagrams indicate a pinning of the domains. Thus
the smoothness of the transition is roughness on a small scale.
