1. For the study of hybrid vigour two varieties differing very widely from each other Were chosen. In the cross between the varieties Udipi as the female parent and Raviya as the male parent, it has been observed at the very outset that the immediate effect of crossing manifest itself in the increased weight of the F1 seeds. TheF 1 seeds had a slightly higher percentage of germination than that of the parental strains. 2. The F1 seedlings and plants exhibited better vigour than the parental seedlings from the very start. The cross resembled the male parent with respect to the fruit characters. 3. The thorny character of the female parent was totally absent in the case of the hybrid plants. 4. The hybrids flowered earlier than the earlier parent by 18 days, and yielded more than both the parents, the increase in yield being 17·2 per cent., over the better parent and 24·1 per cent., over that of the poorer parent. 5. Other observations with regard to plant and fruit characters are detailed in the text. 6. The importance of hybrid vigour in the brinjal crop improvement is therefore indicated.