 Searching for a breakthrough in human and animal nutrition, McCollum purchased all thirty-seven volumes of Richard Maly's "Jahresbericht Über Die Fortschritte Der Tier-Chemie" so he could read them at home.He read of about 13 experiments done between 1873 and 1906 on small animals, often mice, fed restricted diets.In all cases, the animals failed to thrive and died in a few weeks.