[Nymdok]

The Natural Resources of Dwarves

Upthread I began with the idea that there was only the minearls, jewels and ore in the mountain that formed the basis for agriculture (in the general sense of the word) and began to think about other agrarian posibilites and furthermore other natural resources period.

Oil/NatGas

Dwarves dig. We all agree on this much. If your world has Petroleum and Natural Gas, this might make for an interesting addition to the economy allowing for the evolution fo Dwarven Alchemists(Chemists). Wow. now that I think of it, wouldnt it be great if the Mithril shirt from the Hobbit wasnt made of metal dug up from the earth but from Kevlar spun from a Dwarven oil find. Note that finding stores fo these energy dense materials would also serve as a great fuel for forges and gets away from the 'Well where do the dwarves get the wood for fires?' question.

Geothermal

If you go with Geothermal heat as an energy source for your dwarves, then i recommend using the central shaft as the heat radiator. This way as the dwarves dig down, they alo get warmer, drier and more cozy. A fitting re-enforcement of their already borderline agoraphobic ways.

Non-Miniing Agriculture

The non-mining agriculture of dwarves falls into the 'Everyone else' category of labor and since it deals with contact with the world outside the mountain, it is probably not a 'First Choice' Career path for anyone but the most solitary and/or adventurous of thier ilk.

Dwarves could exist on a wide variety of fingi, molds and even insects, What I think might be more satisfying is the simple existence of pit traps. Consider this. After a Volume of a dwarfs space has been hollowed out, and he has lived his life, if the governent has no need of his cave(s) and they are close enough to the surface, one option is simply to sell off /assign the cavespace to someother dwarf who will then dig out to the fresh air. These caves allow small animals to fall through (into suitable cages in case itas a carnivore) and thus can provide meat. Kind of a mountain analog to 'trotline' fishing.

Also, rock providing, it seems that the concept of the flower pot, when affixed to a dwarven ceiling at fairly shallow depth might be an ideal place to grow and harvest root foods like carrots, potatoes, radishes, and othersuch things. Theoretically, the greenery of the plant above ground would also attract herbivores so it seems reasonable to interspace the 'dwarven fields' wtih pits that will allow animals to fall through.

Livestock

Because fo the amount fo space and food they require, it seems to me that there is little call for 'beasts of burden' in the traditional sense of the word, and dwarves would prefer to rely on machinery for any tasks that require lifting or moving that is beyond reasonable dwarven capacity. This limits the existence of livestock in dwarven culture and may even lead to some fear of those creatures due to their typically large size and foreign nature. It would however seem comepletly in line to have Moles, Gophers, and other burrowing rodents as both pets and food sources. Note that because they are found in caves, its not too farfetched a notion that they might also eat/domesticate bats. Bears seem likely given thier willingness to hibernate in caves, but due to thier large food requirements, domestication seems difficult.

Nymdok