The Des Plaines River from the county line to Riverside flows mainly through thickly wooded country which the parkway plans include; the forests for the most part lie on the east side of the River, occasionally crossing to the west side. There are places of great beauty on the River banks, including Thatcher’s Park at River Forest, which has been fenced in, and where an admission fee is charged. South of River Forest the parkway divides, and, passing around the cemeteries at Harlem, joins the River at Riverside. From Harlem to the southern extremity of Riverside the foliage and the scenery generally are exceptionally fine. The boulevard from Summit, running in a southwesterly direction to Spring Forest, commands fine views, particularly over the rising wooded land of Du Page County. Mount Forest is covered with trees, and presents many delightful outlooks from its height; these are particularly fine in the southwestern extremity, where the valley of the Des Plaines to the southwest and northwest, and the Sag valley to the east, all are visible. Evergreen Park is noted for its evergreens, and Sherman farm is thickly wooded. As in the Chicago River region, the thorn, the crab-apple, and wild plum abound; and the great forests consist of elm, cottonwood, and willow, the elm seeming to predominate. The forests in the Palos region stretch south as far as the eye can reach. [Illustration: LXI. CHICAGO. PLAN OF A PARK PROPOSED ON THE MAIN EAST-AND-WEST AXIS OF THE CITY AT CONGRESS STREET AND FIFTY-SECOND AVENUE. COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY COMMERCIAL CLUB OF CHICAGO ] [Illustration: LXII. CHICAGO. PLAN OF A PARK PROPOSED AT WESTERN BOULEVARD AND GARFIELD BOULEVARD, BEING AN EXTENSION OF GAGE PARK. COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY COMMERCIAL CLUB OF CHICAGO ] The Calumet is an ample stream, and on every hand the silhouettes of steel industries give strong evidence of the coming importance of this channel as a harbor. Every effort, therefore, should be made to concentrate the vehicle traffic crossing this river at well-chosen points where great bridges might be constructed, in order to create as little friction as possible between the vessel and the land traffic. On the banks of the Calumet, in the neighborhood of One Hundred and Third Street, are large swamps capable of being developed into fine parks; the country is gently undulating, with plenty of woodland, and the view across Calumet Lake is fine. It is proposed to create a driveway around Lake Calumet, and to reclaim the low lands south of the lake without essentially changing their present topography; also to plant a belt of woods surrounding this lake park set in one of the greatest manufacturing districts in the world; and to construct roadways to form connections with the different park reservations and at the same time to become highways to the city. [Illustration: LXIII. CHICAGO. PLAN OF A PARK PROPOSED AT THE NORTH BRANCH OF THE CHICAGO RIVER AND GRACELAND AVENUE.